Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Rating Increased to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Essex Property Trust from a "strong sell" to a "sell" rating.
• Despite that change, the consensus among analysts remains a "Hold" with a $282 consensus target price (14 Hold, 4 Buy) and several firms, including BMO and Barclays, recently trimming price targets.
• Essex posted Q4 EPS of $3.98 (missing by $0.02) with revenue of $479.6M (slightly ahead), provided FY2026 EPS guidance of 15.69–16.19 and Q1 guidance of 3.89–4.01, and the stock trades near $250 with a ~$16.1B market cap and a 52‑week range of $238–$294.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $279.00 to $281.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $278.00 price objective on Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Essex Property Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $305.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $271.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $282.00.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

NYSE:ESS opened at $250.15 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $251.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $255.78. The stock has a market cap of $16.13 billion, a PE ratio of 24.03, a P/E/G ratio of 7.84 and a beta of 0.71. Essex Property Trust has a 52 week low of $238.46 and a 52 week high of $294.09.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.00 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $479.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $474.66 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 35.48% and a return on equity of 11.61%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $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. As a group, analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Nemes Rush Group LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 57.5% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 115 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the second quarter worth $48,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 120.0% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 176 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.

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