Robert W. Baird Increases Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Price Target to $281.00

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its price target upped by equities researchers at Robert W. Baird from $279.00 to $281.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 9.98% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $294.00 to $284.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $275.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. BMO Capital Markets cut Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $305.00 to $280.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $283.69.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

NYSE:ESS opened at $255.49 on Monday. Essex Property Trust has a 12-month low of $243.25 and a 12-month high of $316.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.54, a P/E/G ratio of 8.05 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $255.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $259.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.00 by ($0.02). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 11.61% and a net margin of 35.48%.The business had revenue of $479.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $474.66 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm 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. On average, analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EJMK Ventures LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $278,000. Tobam lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,118 shares during the period. Arwa LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,238,000. Kera Capital Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 131.6% during the 4th quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,913 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $482,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $953,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.