Royal Bank Of Canada Has Lowered Expectations for Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Stock Price

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada lowered Essex Property Trust’s price target slightly from $298 to $297 while maintaining an “Outperform” rating, implying roughly 11.77% upside from the previous close.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive: ESS has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $298.27, though recent targets from Wells Fargo, Stifel, and Scotiabank were also reduced.
• Essex reported quarterly revenue of $492.7 million, exceeding estimates, but EPS of approximately $1.52 fell well short of the $4.01 consensus. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s shares.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $298.00 to $297.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the real estate investment trust's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 11.77% from the stock's previous close.

ESS has been the subject of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Essex Property Trust to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $279.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $292.75 to $285.50 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on Essex Property Trust from $307.00 to $293.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $298.27.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

ESS stock traded up $4.31 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $265.73. The stock had a trading volume of 480,893 shares, compared to its average volume of 509,427. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $275.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $269.53. The company has a market cap of $17.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.27 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Essex Property Trust has a 52-week low of $238.46 and a 52-week high of $303.35.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.01 by ($2.49). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 7.33% and a net margin of 21.48%. The business had revenue of $492.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $491.01 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.97 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Essex Property Trust will post 16.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 10.5% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 238,747 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,316,000 after purchasing an additional 22,783 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the third quarter worth about $6,400,000. Profund Advisors LLC raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 42.4% during the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 356 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the third quarter worth about $381,000. Finally, Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the third quarter worth about $261,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Key Essex Property Trust News

Here are the key news stories impacting Essex Property Trust this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Essex raised its 2026 core FFO-per-share guidance, signaling improved confidence in operating performance despite near-term cost pressures. Management highlighted solid demand and growth in its Northern California markets. Essex raises 2026 earnings guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter FFO was approximately $4.00 per share, narrowly below the $4.01 consensus but up from $3.97 a year earlier. Revenue of $492.7 million exceeded the roughly $491.0 million estimate, providing some support for the stock. ESS Q3 FFO and revenues
• Positive Sentiment: RBC maintained an “Outperform” rating, indicating a favorable long-term view of Essex’s apartment portfolio and operating outlook, although it made a minor adjustment to its valuation target. RBC price target and rating

About Essex Property Trust

Essex Property Trust, Inc is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust that owns, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily apartment communities. The company focuses on providing rental housing in high-demand markets and generates revenue primarily from apartment rents and related resident services.

Founded in 1971 and headquartered in San Mateo, California, Essex operates primarily in Southern California, the San Francisco Bay Area, and the Seattle metropolitan area.

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