Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $243.08 and last traded at $244.5550, with a volume of 108934 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $246.28.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ESS shares. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $275.00 to $284.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $273.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $271.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $305.00 to $280.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $282.00.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $253.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $257.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $15.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.54 and a beta of 0.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.00 by ($0.02). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 35.48% and a return on equity of 11.61%. The company had revenue of $479.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $474.66 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.92 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 15.690-16.190 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 3.890-4.010 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $2.59 per share. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.57. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 212,619 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $55,655,000 after purchasing an additional 21,832 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 180.4% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,838 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,575,000 after purchasing an additional 6,330 shares during the period. EJMK Ventures LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $278,000. Tobam increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 672.4% during the 4th quarter. Tobam now owns 2,433 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $637,000 after buying an additional 2,118 shares during the period. Finally, Arwa LLC purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth $1,238,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

About Essex Property Trust

Essex Property Trust, Inc (NYSE: ESS) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that acquires, develops, owns and operates multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on market-rate apartment communities and delivers a full suite of property services including leasing, resident services, asset management, and capital improvement programs designed to preserve and enhance long‑term property values.

Essex concentrates its portfolio in West Coast markets, with a significant presence in California and the Pacific Northwest.