Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS Shares Acquired by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS

Key Points

• Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 22.8% in the first quarter, buying 8,164 more shares and bringing its holding to 43,989 shares worth about $10.6 million.
• Several analysts turned more bullish on the REIT, with multiple upgrades and higher price targets; the stock currently carries a Hold consensus and an average target price of $293.03.
• Essex Property Trust reported Q1 earnings of $1.65 per share, well below estimates, but still announced a quarterly dividend of $2.59 per share, implying a 3.5% annualized yield.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 22.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,989 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 8,164 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS owned approximately 0.07% of Essex Property Trust worth $10,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 814 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $213,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 913 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Norinchukin Bank The lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.6% during the third quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 6,957 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,862,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 445 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,537 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $664,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.45, for a total value of $167,670.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,394 shares in the company, valued at $669,003.30. This trade represents a 20.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $275.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, May 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $290.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Nine 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $293.03.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $297.30 on Tuesday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $238.46 and a 52 week high of $303.35. The company's 50 day moving average is $280.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $262.89. 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 has a market cap of $19.10 billion, a PE ratio of 33.40, a P/E/G ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 0.70.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.96 by ($2.31). The firm had revenue of $484.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $479.89 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 30.03% and a return on equity of 10.00%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.97 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $2.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $10.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.40%.

Essex Property Trust Company Profile

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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