Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Royal Bank Of Canada

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its price target lowered by Royal Bank Of Canada from $312.00 to $298.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

ESS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Essex Property Trust to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $296.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $295.00 price target (down from $308.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $307.00 to $293.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $299.89.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS stock opened at $269.75 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.74, a PEG ratio of 8.00 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. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $277.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $276.04. Essex Property Trust has a 52 week low of $238.46 and a 52 week high of $303.35.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $2.62. The business had revenue of $489.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 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, sell-side analysts predict that Essex Property Trust will post 16.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued 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 payout ratio is currently 161.12%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ESS. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 523.1% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 162 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 31.2% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 265 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the first quarter worth approximately $75,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

About Essex Property Trust

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.