Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Has $166.59 Million Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 0.3% to approximately 543,397 shares, representing about 0.84% of their overall portfolio.
• Essex Property Trust reported a Q2 EPS of $4.03, beating expectations by $0.04, and plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $2.57 per share on October 15th.
• Recent analysis has seen mixed price target adjustments from analysts, with Barclays lowering the target from $335 to $298, and BMO Capital Markets increasing theirs from $315 to $317.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 0.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 543,397 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 1,656 shares during the quarter. Essex Property Trust accounts for about 0.7% of Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.84% of Essex Property Trust worth $166,589,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the first quarter worth approximately $653,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 10.0% in the first quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 883 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the first quarter worth approximately $705,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 1.2% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 133,886 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $41,045,000 after buying an additional 1,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the first quarter worth approximately $569,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

NYSE:ESS traded up $3.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $268.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 256,432 shares, compared to its average volume of 483,674. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.85 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $17.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.60, a P/E/G ratio of 6.89 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $271.89 and a 200-day moving average of $281.28.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.99 by $0.04. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 43.51% and a return on equity of 13.98%. The firm had revenue of $465.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $466.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior 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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on ESS. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $301.50 to $305.50 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $335.00 to $298.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $285.00 to $279.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Scotiabank decreased 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 note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $300.44.

Essex Property Trust Company Profile

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.