Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Stock Price Target Lowered at UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS Group lowered Essex Property Trust’s price target from $286 to $275 and maintained a “neutral” rating, implying roughly 2.1% upside from the stock’s reported $269.31 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with MarketBeat reporting a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target price of $299.89.
• ESS shares traded down to $269.31, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $4.08—well above the $1.46 consensus estimate—and revenue of $489.05 million.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by research analysts at UBS Group from $286.00 to $275.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the real estate investment trust's stock. UBS Group's price target suggests a potential upside of 2.11% from the stock's current price.

ESS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $291.00 to $316.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $325.00 target price on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $312.00 to $298.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Essex Property Trust from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $299.89.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS traded down $2.56 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $269.31. 55,222 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 504,996. Essex Property Trust has a twelve month low of $238.46 and a twelve month high of $303.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company has a market cap of $17.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.90, a PEG ratio of 8.03 and a beta of 0.70. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $278.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $275.64.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $2.62. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 21.48% and a return on equity of 7.33%. The company had revenue of $489.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $485.12 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.03 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.930-4.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 16.030-16.250 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Essex Property Trust will post 16.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the second quarter worth $2,166,555,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter worth $260,252,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 995,810 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $240,989,000 after buying an additional 57,173 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 23,177.2% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 757,439 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $220,862,000 after buying an additional 754,185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rush Island Management LP boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 26.8% in the first quarter. Rush Island Management LP now owns 807,893 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $195,510,000 after buying an additional 170,682 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

About Essex Property Trust

Essex Property Trust, Inc is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust that owns, operates, develops, redevelops and acquires multifamily communities. The company's portfolio consists primarily of apartment homes, with related services and amenities designed for residential renters.

Founded in 1971, Essex focuses on markets along the West Coast of the United States. Its properties are concentrated in Southern California, Northern California and the Seattle metropolitan area, where the company seeks to benefit from employment growth, population trends and demand for rental housing.

Essex Property Trust is headquartered in San Mateo, California, and its common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ESS.

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