Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Stock Price

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its target price dropped by research analysts at Barclays from $292.00 to $271.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 7.50% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on ESS. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $273.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $278.00 target price on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $279.00 to $281.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $282.00.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of ESS traded down $6.15 on Friday, reaching $252.09. The stock had a trading volume of 12,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 561,313. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.05 and a beta of 0.73. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $255.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $259.07. Essex Property Trust has a 12-month low of $243.25 and a 12-month high of $310.10.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.00 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $479.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $474.66 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 11.61% and a net margin of 35.48%.During the same period in the previous year, the company 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nemes Rush Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 57.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 115 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Tobam lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 167.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tobam now owns 131 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 120.0% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 176 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.