OP Asset Management Ltd Acquires New Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

OP Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,403 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,550,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the first quarter worth $1,664,000. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust during the first quarter worth about $223,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 70.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 186.2% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 33,614 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,526,000 after acquiring an additional 21,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 8,274 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,345,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $272.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $273.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $290.00 to $291.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $278.00 to $281.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $292.08.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In other news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.45, for a total value of $167,670.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $669,003.30. The trade was a 20.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.47% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

ESS opened at $295.50 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $273.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $260.32. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $238.46 and a 12-month high of $296.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.20, a PEG ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 0.72.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by ($2.31). The firm had revenue of $484.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $479.89 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 30.03% and a return on equity of 10.00%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.97 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $2.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 116.40%.

Essex Property Trust 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.