Wells Fargo & Company Increases Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Price Target to $280.00

Key Points

• Wells Fargo raised its price target on Essex Property Trust to $280 from $262, while keeping an equal weight rating on the stock.
• Other analysts have also recently adjusted their outlooks, and the consensus view now sits at Hold with an average price target of $286.97.
• Essex Property Trust shares were trading around $278.60 on Monday, after the company recently reported earnings that missed expectations on EPS but slightly beat revenue estimates.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $262.00 to $280.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the real estate investment trust's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target indicates a potential upside of 0.50% from the company's previous close.

ESS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective 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. Piper Sandler raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $275.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, May 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $278.00 to $281.50 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $293.00 price objective on Essex Property Trust in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $286.97.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

NYSE ESS traded up $5.96 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $278.60. The stock had a trading volume of 107,377 shares, compared to its average volume of 517,312. Essex Property Trust has a twelve month low of $238.46 and a twelve month high of $294.09. 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 firm's 50 day moving average is $258.26 and its 200 day moving average is $256.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.21, a PEG ratio of 11.78 and a beta of 0.72.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.96 by ($2.31). The business 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 last year, the company earned $3.97 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust will post 16.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In other news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.45, for a total transaction of $167,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $669,003.30. This represents a 20.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESS. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 814 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 57.5% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 115 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Segment Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 913 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 6,957 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,862,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 445 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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