Carronade Capital Management LP Boosts Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Key Points

• Carronade Capital Management LP increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 37.6%, now owning 19,780 shares valued at approximately $6.06 million.
• Essex Property Trust reported earnings per share of $4.03 for the last quarter, surpassing analyst estimates of $3.99, while revenue was slightly below estimates at $465.84 million.
• Analyst ratings for Essex Property Trust are mixed, with seven holding a Buy rating, eleven a Hold rating, and one a Sell rating, while the average target price is set at $301.42.

Carronade Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 37.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,780 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 5,406 shares during the quarter. Essex Property Trust accounts for approximately 0.4% of Carronade Capital Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Carronade Capital Management LP's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $6,064,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ESS. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $10,519,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 121.8% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 11,549 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,297,000 after acquiring an additional 6,342 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 801,813 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $227,398,000 after purchasing an additional 24,936 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth $374,000. Finally, Alethea Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth $218,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $295.00 to $283.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on 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. Raymond James Financial raised Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $315.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $320.00 to $309.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Essex Property Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $300.44.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESS traded up $2.81 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $264.32. The stock had a trading volume of 435,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 486,391. The company has a market capitalization of $17.02 billion, a PE ratio of 21.25, a P/E/G ratio of 6.95 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $273.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $281.96. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.85 and a 1 year high of $317.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.99 by $0.04. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 43.51%.The firm had revenue of $465.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $466.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the business 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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is 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.