Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 5,483 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 929,187 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,483 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $248,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 1.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 33,402 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,940,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,015,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 8,662 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,318,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 23,100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,552 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $683,000 after acquiring an additional 2,541 shares during the period. Finally, Andra AP fonden increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 223.3% in the 3rd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 88,900 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $23,795,000 after acquiring an additional 61,404 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:ESS opened at $255.28 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $255.13 and its 200 day moving average is $259.04. The firm has a market cap of $16.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.52, a PEG ratio of 8.02 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.25 and a 52-week high of $310.10.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.00 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $479.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $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. Research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $2.59 dividend. This represents a $10.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.57. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ESS. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $290.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Friday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $305.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $279.00 to $281.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $282.00.

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.