Brokers Set Expectations for Essex Property Trust, Inc.'s FY2026 Earnings (NYSE:ESS)

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Zacks Research dropped their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for Essex Property Trust in a research report issued on Monday, April 15th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the real estate investment trust will post earnings per share of $16.12 for the year, down from their previous forecast of $16.34. The consensus estimate for Essex Property Trust's current full-year earnings is $15.11 per share.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on ESS. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Essex Property Trust from $225.00 to $223.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Raymond James raised Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "sell" rating and set a $227.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Mizuho raised Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $245.37.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

ESS stock traded down $2.96 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $232.63. The stock had a trading volume of 294,088 shares, compared to its average volume of 399,423. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.80. Essex Property Trust has a 52 week low of $203.85 and a 52 week high of $252.85. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $237.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $230.47. The company has a current ratio of 3.26, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were given a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.21%. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 155.31%.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $675,183,000. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 15.0% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,712,755 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,419,056,000 after buying an additional 874,625 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,072,004 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $761,760,000 after buying an additional 730,141 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 213.0% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 888,858 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $188,367,000 after buying an additional 604,863 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 201.1% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 534,964 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $132,639,000 after buying an additional 357,268 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.