Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS Shares Bought by Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 393.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,629 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 55,508 shares during the period. Essex Property Trust makes up 0.6% of Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $18,637,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the second quarter worth approximately $48,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the third quarter worth approximately $48,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the second quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 351.6% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 289 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ESS shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $282.00 target price (down from $304.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Monday, December 15th. Barclays reduced their target price on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $271.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $305.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $282.00.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 0.7%

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $249.61 on Monday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.25 and a 52 week high of $310.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.98, a P/E/G ratio of 7.85 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $254.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $258.54.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.00 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $479.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $474.66 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 35.48% and a return on equity of 11.61%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.92 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 15.690-16.190 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 3.890-4.010 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $2.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.57. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 98.75%.

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.