Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from Wells Fargo & Company

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its price objective trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $297.00 to $279.00 in a report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $291.00 to $316.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $352.00 to $326.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $325.00 price objective on Essex Property Trust in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $298.99.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE ESS opened at $274.45 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $276.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $276.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.08 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. Essex Property Trust has a fifty-two week low of $238.46 and a fifty-two week high of $303.35.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $2.62. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 7.33% and a net margin of 21.48%. The company had revenue of $489.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $485.12 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business 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. On average, research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust will post 16.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a $2.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $10.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 161.12%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ESS. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 787 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,047 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Revisor Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 31.2% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 265 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 4,949 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,443,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Company Profile

Essex Property Trust, Inc is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust that owns, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily apartment communities. The company focuses on providing rental housing in high-demand markets and generates revenue primarily from apartment rents and related resident services.

Founded in 1971 and headquartered in San Mateo, California, Essex operates primarily in Southern California, the San Francisco Bay Area, and the Seattle metropolitan area.