Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Releases Q1 2026 Earnings Guidance

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) issued an update on its first quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 3.890-4.010 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 2.480. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Essex Property Trust also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 15.690-16.190 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on 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. Barclays reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $292.00 target price on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $275.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $290.00 target price on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $285.70.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 2.2%

NYSE ESS traded up $5.42 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $253.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 779,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 600,577. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.29 billion, a PE ratio of 19.23, a PEG ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 0.74. Essex Property Trust has a 1-year low of $243.25 and a 1-year high of $316.29. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $256.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $260.83.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.00 by ($0.02). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 45.46% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The business had revenue of $479.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $474.66 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.92 EPS. 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. On average, research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $2.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.12%.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 973.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 743,954 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $199,127,000 after purchasing an additional 674,617 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,157,617 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $309,848,000 after purchasing an additional 100,730 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $15,551,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 786,774 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $210,588,000 after buying an additional 51,407 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $11,136,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Essex Property Trust

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.