MBB Public Markets I LLC Takes Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Key Points

• MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired 1,080 shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. for approximately $331,000 in the first quarter, contributing to a high institutional ownership of 96.51% in the stock.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on ESS, with price targets ranging from $275.00 to $315.00 and a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $300.44.
• Essex Property Trust announced a quarterly dividend of $2.57 per share, yielding 3.8%, to be paid on October 15th, with an 82.64% payout ratio.

MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,080 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $331,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 4.6% in the first quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 985 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.0% in the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 929 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.3% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 778 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 34.8% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 190 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 56.3% in the first quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 136 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $306.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $279.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $293.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $320.00 to $309.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $304.00 to $285.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $298.41.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:ESS traded down $1.58 during trading on Friday, reaching $267.23. The stock had a trading volume of 259,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 369,991. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $17.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.48, a PEG ratio of 6.91 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $270.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $280.64. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.85 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.99 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $465.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $466.47 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 43.51% and a return on equity of 13.98%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.94 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 3.890-3.990 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 15.800-16.020 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is presently 82.64%.

About Essex Property Trust

Essex Property Trust, Inc, an S&P 500 company, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily residential properties in selected West Coast markets. Essex currently has ownership interests in 252 apartment communities comprising approximately 62,000 apartment homes with an additional property in active development.