Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Stock Price Target Cut by UBS Group

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its price target decreased by stock analysts at UBS Group from $286.00 to $275.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 2.11% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Citizens Jmp upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings lowered Essex Property Trust from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Evercore set a $299.00 target price on Essex Property Trust in a report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $299.89.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

ESS stock traded down $2.56 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $269.31. 55,222 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 504,996. The company has a market capitalization of $17.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.90, a P/E/G ratio of 8.03 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $278.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $275.64. Essex Property Trust has a twelve month low of $238.46 and a twelve month 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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $2.62. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 21.48% and a return on equity of 7.33%. The firm had revenue of $489.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $485.12 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.03 earnings per share. 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust will post 16.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESS. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,166,555,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $260,252,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 6.1% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 23,177.2% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 757,439 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $220,862,000 after purchasing an additional 754,185 shares during the period. Finally, Rush Island Management LP lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 26.8% in the 1st quarter. Rush Island Management LP now owns 807,893 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $195,510,000 after purchasing an additional 170,682 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Company Profile

Essex Property Trust, Inc is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust that owns, operates, develops, redevelops and acquires multifamily communities. The company’s portfolio consists primarily of apartment homes, with related services and amenities designed for residential renters.

Founded in 1971, Essex focuses on markets along the West Coast of the United States. Its properties are concentrated in Southern California, Northern California and the Seattle metropolitan area, where the company seeks to benefit from employment growth, population trends and demand for rental housing.

Essex Property Trust is headquartered in San Mateo, California, and its common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ESS.