Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Invests $2.89 Million in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,909 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $2,889,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter worth $2,166,555,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,873,698 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $488,601,000 after purchasing an additional 22,835 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,679,607 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $439,520,000 after purchasing an additional 301,349 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 9.5% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,157,617 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $309,848,000 after purchasing an additional 100,730 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 995,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $240,989,000 after purchasing an additional 57,173 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 1.3%

ESS stock opened at $284.49 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $289.82 and its 200 day moving average is $270.92. The stock has a market cap of $18.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.27 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $238.46 and a 1-year high of $303.35.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $2.62. The business had revenue of $489.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $485.12 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 21.48% and a return on equity of 7.33%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.03 EPS. Essex Property Trust has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.930-4.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 16.030-16.250 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $303.00 target price on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Citizens Jmp raised Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $292.75 price objective on Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $304.79.

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.