Essex Property Trust (ESS) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ESS) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust specializing in the acquisition, development and management of multifamily residential properties. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, the company’s core operations focus on constructing and operating high-quality apartment communities designed to meet the needs of urban and suburban renters. Essex’s business model encompasses site selection, community design, in-house construction oversight, leasing, and ongoing property management to optimize occupancy levels and tenant satisfaction.

The company maintains a geographically concentrated portfolio along the West Coast of the United States, with a particular emphasis on prime urban markets in California and Washington. Essex’s holdings include communities in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County and Seattle. Each property offers a blend of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans, complemented by amenities such as fitness centers, swimming pools, coworking spaces and sustainable building features aimed at enhancing resident comfort and well-being.

Founded in 1971 by Jeffrey Jacob as a privately held partnership, Essex Property Trust transitioned to a real estate investment trust structure in 1994 and commenced trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Over the decades, the company has grown through strategic land acquisitions, vertical construction projects and selective portfolio acquisitions. Its disciplined approach to capital allocation and deep local market expertise have helped Essex navigate cyclical real estate trends and maintain a high-quality property base.

Under the leadership of President and Chief Executive Officer Michael J. Schall, who joined the company in 1998 and was appointed CEO in 2013, Essex has reinforced its commitment to operational excellence, sustainable development and community engagement. Executive management emphasizes rigorous financial stewardship, innovative development practices and tenant-centric service models. With a focus on long-term value creation, Essex continues to pursue growth opportunities in key coastal markets while maintaining a strong balance sheet and conservative leverage profile.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $276.88 to $287.37
• 50-Day Range: $269.80 to $292.85
• 52-Week Range: $243.85 to $317.73
• Volume: 677,225 shs
• Average Volume: 421,752 shs
• Market Capitalization: $18.34 billion
• P/E Ratio: 27.26
• Dividend Yield: 3.61%
• Price Target: $310.28
• Consensus Rating: Hold

Essex Property Trust Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Essex Property Trust scored higher than 85% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 265th out of 939 stocks in the finance sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 2.2 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Hold

Consensus Rating

Essex Property Trust has received a consensus rating of Hold. The company's average rating score is 2.37, and is based on 8 buy ratings, 10 hold ratings, and 1 sell rating.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Essex Property Trust has been the subject of 7 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 0.6 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 3.88%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Essex Property Trust are expected to grow by 3.88% in the coming year, from $15.96 to $16.58 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Essex Property Trust is 27.26, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 24.87.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Essex Property Trust is 27.26, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the Finance sector average P/E ratio of about 19.91.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

Essex Property Trust has a PEG Ratio of 5.95. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Essex Property Trust has a P/B Ratio of 3.20. P/B Ratios above 3 indicate that a company could be overvalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 3.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

2.42% of the float of Essex Property Trust has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Essex Property Trust has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 3.2, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Essex Property Trust has recently increased by 1.97%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing.

Dividend

• Score: 4.2 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Strong

Dividend Leadership

Essex Property Trust is a leading dividend payer. It pays a dividend yield of 3.60%, putting its dividend yield in the top 25% of dividend-paying stocks.

Dividend Growth

Essex Property Trust has been increasing its dividend for 31 years.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Essex Property Trust is 98.37%. Payout ratios above 75% are not desirable because they may not be sustainable.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, Essex Property Trust will have a dividend payout ratio of 62.00% next year. This indicates that Essex Property Trust will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Environmental Score: -3.13

Percentage of Shares Shorted

2.42% of the float of Essex Property Trust has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Essex Property Trust has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 3.2, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Essex Property Trust has recently increased by 1.97%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing.

News and Social Media

• Score: 3.7 / 5
• News Sentiment: 1.62

News Sentiment

Essex Property Trust has a news sentiment score of 1.62. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.85 average news sentiment score of Finance companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 16 news articles for Essex Property Trust this week, compared to 12 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

3 people have searched for ESS on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 50% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 1.7 / 5
• Insider Trading: N/A

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Essex Property Trust insiders have not sold or bought any company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 3.46% of the stock of Essex Property Trust is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

96.51% of the stock of Essex Property Trust is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

ESS Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have ESS shares performed this year?

Essex Property Trust's stock was trading at $285.44 on January 1st, 2025. Since then, ESS shares have decreased by 0.2% and is now trading at $284.90.
View the best growth stocks for 2025 here.

How were Essex Property Trust's earnings last quarter?

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April, 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.05. The real estate investment trust earned $464.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $458.03 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 37.08% and a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 11.81%.
Read the conference call transcript.

Who are Essex Property Trust's major shareholders?

Top institutional investors of Essex Property Trust include Kera Capital Partners Inc.. Insiders that own company stock include Keith R Guericke, Angela L Kleiman, Barbara Pak, Amal M Johnson, Anne Morrison and Mary Kasaris.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Essex Property Trust?

Shares of ESS stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

What other stocks do shareholders of Essex Property Trust own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Essex Property Trust investors own include Waste Connections (WCN), The RMR Group (RMR), iShares Micro-Cap ETF (IWC), DiamondRock Hospitality (DRH), American Water Works (AWK), AU Optronics (AUOTY) and Triple Flag Precious Metals (TFPM).

Company Calendar

• Record date for 4/15 Dividend: 3/31/2025
• Ex-Dividend for 4/15 Dividend: 3/31/2025
• Dividend Payable: 4/15/2025
• Last Earnings: 4/29/2025
• Record date for 7/15 Dividend: 6/30/2025
• Ex-Dividend for 7/15 Dividend: 6/30/2025
• Today: 7/01/2025
• Dividend Payable: 7/15/2025
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 7/29/2025
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Finance
• Industry: REIT - EQTY TRUST - RESID
• Sub-Industry: Residential REITs
• Current Symbol: NYSE:ESS
• CIK: 920522
• Web: www.essexapartmenthomes.com
• Phone: (650) 655-7800
• Fax: 650-494-8743
• Employees: 1,770
• Year Founded: N/A

Price Target and Rating

• Average Stock Price Target: $310.28
• High Stock Price Target: $355.00
• Low Stock Price Target: $268.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +9.5%
• Consensus Rating: Hold
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.37
• Research Coverage: 19 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Most Recent Fiscal Year): $10.45
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 27.12
• Forward P/E Ratio: 17.76
• P/E Growth: 5.95
• Net Income: $741.52 million
• Net Margins: 37.08%
• Pretax Margin: 40.78%
• Return on Equity: 11.81%
• Return on Assets: 5.24%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 1.18
• Current Ratio: 1.04
• Quick Ratio: 1.04

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $1.77 billion
• Price / Sales: 10.28
• Cash Flow: $20.54 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 13.80
• Book Value: $89.01 per share
• Price / Book: 3.18

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 64,390,000
• Free Float: 62,157,000
• Market Cap: $18.25 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.78