Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Essex Property Trust has a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" from 18 brokerages, with 13 hold ratings and 5 buy ratings. The average 1-year price target is about $282.97.
• The company recently reported Q1 earnings of $1.65 per share, well below analysts’ estimate of $3.96, though revenue of $484.76 million slightly topped expectations. Essex also guided Q2 2026 EPS at 3.92 to 4.04.
• Essex recently raised its quarterly dividend to $2.59 per share, or $10.36 annually, which implies a 3.9% yield. However, the dividend payout ratio is elevated at 116.4%.

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $282.9688.

ESS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $290.00 to $291.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Essex Property Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $305.00 to $280.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $271.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 23,136 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $6,193,000 after buying an additional 2,395 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,900,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 594,450 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $159,114,000 after buying an additional 22,378 shares during the last quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 473.5% in the 3rd quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 516,756 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $138,315,000 after buying an additional 426,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 23,100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,552 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $683,000 after buying an additional 2,541 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS stock opened at $263.68 on Friday. Essex Property Trust has a 12 month low of $238.46 and a 12 month high of $294.09. The stock has a market cap of $16.94 billion, a PE ratio of 29.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.38 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company's fifty day moving average price is $252.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $255.15.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 30.03% and a return on equity of 10.00%. The business had revenue of $484.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $479.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.97 EPS. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Essex Property Trust will post 16.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $2.59 dividend. This represents a $10.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.57. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.40%.

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.

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