State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Increases Stock Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Key Points

• State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 11.9% in Q4, adding 3,833 shares to hold 36,124 shares worth about $9.45 million, and institutional investors now own 96.51% of the company.
• Essex reported Q1 EPS of $1.65 versus a $3.96 estimate (revenue $484.8M vs. $479.9M), set Q2 2026 guidance of $3.92–4.04 EPS, and recently raised its quarterly dividend to $2.59 (annualized yield ~3.9%); the stock trades with a market cap of ~$17B and a P/E of 29.6.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,124 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 3,833 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned about 0.06% of Essex Property Trust worth $9,453,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ESS. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 57.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 115 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 120.0% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 176 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

NYSE ESS opened at $263.47 on Friday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $238.46 and a 52 week high of $294.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.60, a PEG ratio of 8.25 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $251.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $254.99.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.96 by ($2.31). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 30.03% and a return on equity of 10.00%. The business had revenue of $484.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $479.89 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.97 EPS. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $2.59 dividend. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.57. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on ESS. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $278.00 to $281.50 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $279.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Raymond James Financial restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $280.72.

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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