Essex Property Trust (ESS) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Essex Property Trust, Inc. is a real estate investment trust focused on the acquisition, development and management of multifamily residential properties along the U.S. West Coast. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, the company’s portfolio comprises high-quality apartment communities primarily located in California and Washington, with select presence in other West Coast markets. Essex’s operations span the full real estate life cycle, including ground-up development, strategic acquisitions, financing and day-to-day property management.

Founded in 1971 by George M. Marcus, Essex Property Trust went public in 1994 and has since grown into one of the largest publicly traded residential REITs in the country. The company expanded substantially through strategic developments and acquisitions, including its merger with BRE Properties in 2019. Today, its portfolio includes over 250 apartment communities with more than 60,000 residential units, catering to a diverse tenant base seeking urban and suburban rental housing in high-barrier-to-entry markets.

Essex differentiates itself through a focus on high-quality amenities, thoughtful design and resident services. Apartment communities often feature modern fitness centers, resort-style pools, coworking spaces and sustainable building practices. The company’s in-house property management team oversees leasing, maintenance and community engagement programs, aiming to deliver a consistent living experience and foster long-term tenant retention.

Led by a senior management team with deep experience in residential real estate, Essex Property Trust emphasizes disciplined capital allocation, risk management and sustainable growth. The company regularly evaluates new development opportunities and targeted acquisitions to enhance its West Coast footprint. Through its integrated operating platform, Essex strives to deliver stable, long-term outcomes for its shareholders while addressing evolving needs in the multifamily rental market.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $267.37 to $270.68
• 50-Day Range: $252.02 to $292.78
• 52-Week Range: $243.85 to $317.73
• Volume: 388,675 shs
• Average Volume: 498,714 shs
• Market Capitalization: $17.42 billion
• P/E Ratio: 21.74
• Dividend Yield: 3.80%
• Price Target: $301.42
• Consensus Rating: Hold

Essex Property Trust Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Essex Property Trust scored higher than 92% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 174th out of 935 stocks in the finance sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 3.2 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Hold

Consensus Rating

Essex Property Trust has received a consensus rating of Hold. The company's average rating score is 2.32, and is based on 7 buy ratings, 11 hold ratings, and 1 sell rating.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Essex Property Trust has been the subject of 11 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.9 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 3.88%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Essex Property Trust are expected to grow by 3.88% in the coming year, from $15.96 to $16.58 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Essex Property Trust is 21.74, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 269.60.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Essex Property Trust is 21.74, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Finance sector average P/E ratio of about 228.82.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

Essex Property Trust has a PEG Ratio of 6.89. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Essex Property Trust has a P/B Ratio of 3.00. P/B Ratios above 3 indicate that a company could be overvalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 2.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Bearish

Percentage of Shares Shorted

3.19% of the float of Essex Property Trust has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Essex Property Trust has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 4.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Essex Property Trust has recently increased by 32.47%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 4.2 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Strong

Dividend Leadership

Essex Property Trust is a leading dividend payer. It pays a dividend yield of 3.84%, putting its dividend yield in the top 25% of dividend-paying stocks.

Dividend Growth

Essex Property Trust has been increasing its dividend for 31 years.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Essex Property Trust is 82.64%. Payout ratios above 75% are not desirable because they may not be sustainable.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, Essex Property Trust will have a dividend payout ratio of 62.00% next year. This indicates that Essex Property Trust will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Environmental Score: -3.11

Percentage of Shares Shorted

3.19% of the float of Essex Property Trust has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Essex Property Trust has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 4.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Essex Property Trust has recently increased by 32.47%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

News and Social Media

• Score: 2.8 / 5
• News Sentiment: 1.04

News Sentiment

Essex Property Trust has a news sentiment score of 1.04. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a lower news sentiment than the 1.18 average news sentiment score of Finance companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 20 news articles for Essex Property Trust this week, compared to 17 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

5 people have searched for ESS on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 150% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

Only 1 people have added Essex Property Trust to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -50% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 1.7 / 5
• Insider Trading: N/A

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Essex Property Trust insiders have not sold or bought any company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 3.46% of the stock of Essex Property Trust is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

96.51% of the stock of Essex Property Trust is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

ESS Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have ESS shares performed this year?

Essex Property Trust's stock was trading at $285.44 at the start of the year. Since then, ESS stock has decreased by 5.2% and is now trading at $270.4910.

How were Essex Property Trust's earnings last quarter?

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) released its earnings results on Tuesday, July, 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.99 by $0.04. The real estate investment trust earned $465.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $466.47 million. Essex Property Trust had a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 43.51%.
Read the conference call transcript.

Who are Essex Property Trust's major shareholders?

Top institutional shareholders of Essex Property Trust include Vanguard Group Inc. (16.29%), State Street Corp (8.37%), Valeo Financial Advisors LLC (4.62%) and Geode Capital Management LLC (2.83%). Insiders that own company stock include Keith R Guericke, Angela L Kleiman, Barbara Pak, Amal M Johnson, Anne Morrison and Mary Kasaris.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Essex Property Trust?

Shares of ESS stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

What other stocks do shareholders of Essex Property Trust own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Essex Property Trust investors own include Waste Connections (WCN), The RMR Group (RMR), iShares Micro-Cap ETF (IWC), DiamondRock Hospitality (DRH), American Water Works (AWK), AU Optronics (AUOTY) and Triple Flag Precious Metals (TFPM).

Company Calendar

• Record date for 7/15 Dividend: 6/30/2025
• Ex-Dividend for 7/15 Dividend: 6/30/2025
• Dividend Payable: 7/15/2025
• Last Earnings: 7/29/2025
• Today: 8/29/2025
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 11/04/2025
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Finance
• Industry: REIT - EQTY TRUST - RESID
• Sub-Industry: Residential REITs
• Current Symbol: NYSE:ESS
• CIK: 920522
• Web: www.essexapartmenthomes.com
• Phone: (650) 655-7800
• Fax: 650-494-8743
• Employees: 1,770
• Year Founded: N/A

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for Essex Property Trust: $301.42
• High Price Target: $333.00
• Low Price Target: $275.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +11.4%
• Consensus Rating: Hold
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.32
• Research Coverage: 19 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $12.44
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 21.74
• Forward P/E Ratio: 16.95
• P/E Growth: 6.88
• Net Income: $741.52 million
• Net Margins: 43.51%
• Pretax Margin: 47.37%
• Return on Equity: 13.98%
• Return on Assets: 6.16%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 1.16
• Current Ratio: 1.09
• Quick Ratio: 1.09

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $1.84 billion
• Price / Sales: 9.47
• Cash Flow: $20.90 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 12.94
• Book Value: $90.15 per share
• Price / Book: 3.00

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 64,404,000
• Free Float: 62,176,000
• Market Cap: $17.42 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.80