Strs Ohio Sells 17,803 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Key Points

• Strs Ohio reduced its Essex Property Trust stake by 21.7% in the first quarter, selling 17,803 shares and leaving it with 64,342 shares valued at about $15.6 million.
• Essex Property Trust reported a weak quarter, with earnings of $1.65 per share, far below the $3.96 consensus estimate, though revenue came in slightly above expectations at $484.76 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $2.59 per share, implying a $10.36 annualized payout and a 3.5% yield, while analysts currently have a consensus rating of Hold with a target price of $292.08.

Strs Ohio cut its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 21.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,342 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 17,803 shares during the period. Strs Ohio owned 0.10% of Essex Property Trust worth $15,571,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ESS. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the first quarter worth approximately $1,664,000. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $223,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 70.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 186.2% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 33,614 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $9,526,000 after acquiring an additional 21,871 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 8,274 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,345,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

ESS opened at $297.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $276.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $261.38. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $238.46 and a 1 year high of $299.29. The company has a market capitalization of $19.14 billion, a PE ratio of 33.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.86 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is 116.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.45, for a total value of $167,670.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,394 shares in the company, valued at $669,003.30. The trade was a 20.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ESS shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $293.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $290.00 to $291.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $272.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Essex Property Trust to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Nine investment 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $292.08.

Essex Property Trust 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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