Raymond James Financial Reaffirms Market Perform Rating for Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS)

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating restated by Raymond James Financial in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

ESS has been the topic of several other reports. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Essex Property Trust from $294.00 to $284.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $305.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $290.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Monday, February 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $283.87.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of ESS opened at $262.69 on Friday. Essex Property Trust has a 52-week low of $243.25 and a 52-week high of $316.29. The stock has a market cap of $16.94 billion, a PE ratio of 25.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.17 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $255.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $259.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted 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 business 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 prior year, the business posted $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. Research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 3.8% during the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 1,054 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 288 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 814 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 57.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 115 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Segment Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 913 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 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.