Jefferies Financial Group Upgrades Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) to Strong-Buy

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) was upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $273.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. UBS Group set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $290.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $272.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $299.08.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $293.61 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $18.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.99, a PEG ratio of 12.63 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Essex Property Trust has a fifty-two week low of $238.46 and a fifty-two week high of $303.35. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $284.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $264.75.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by ($2.31). The company had revenue of $484.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $479.89 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 10.00% and a net margin of 30.03%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.97 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust will post 16.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In other news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.45, for a total transaction of $167,670.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $669,003.30. This trade represents a 20.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 3.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 523.1% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 162 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. 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.