North Dakota State Investment Board Takes Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 2,185 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $572,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 913 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 6,957 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,862,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 445 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 12,919 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,458,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE ESS opened at $273.86 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $255.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $255.97. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $238.46 and a 12-month high of $294.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.77, a PEG ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 0.71.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.96 by ($2.31). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 10.00% and a net margin of 30.03%.The business had revenue of $484.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $479.89 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.97 EPS. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. Research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.06 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $2.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 116.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $278.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $268.00 to $262.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised Essex Property Trust from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Essex Property Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $283.74.

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.