Q3 2024 EPS Estimates for Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Raised by Analyst

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) – Research analysts at Zacks Research boosted their Q3 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Essex Property Trust in a note issued to investors on Monday, April 15th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the real estate investment trust will post earnings of $3.74 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $3.73. The consensus estimate for Essex Property Trust’s current full-year earnings is $15.12 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Essex Property Trust’s Q4 2024 earnings at $3.76 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $14.98 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $3.76 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $3.79 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $3.88 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $3.95 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $15.38 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on ESS. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $215.00 to $281.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $291.00 target price on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $225.00 to $223.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $245.37.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of ESS opened at $233.97 on Wednesday. Essex Property Trust has a 1-year low of $203.85 and a 1-year high of $252.85. The stock has a market cap of $15.02 billion, a PE ratio of 37.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 3.26 and a quick ratio of 3.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $237.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $230.51.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 1.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,614,782 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,667,195,000 after buying an additional 184,047 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 15.0% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,712,755 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,419,056,000 after buying an additional 874,625 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,072,004 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $761,760,000 after buying an additional 730,141 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $675,183,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,685,715 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $417,959,000 after buying an additional 162,809 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.19%. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 155.31%.

About Essex Property Trust

Essex Property Trust, Inc, an S&P 500 company, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily residential properties in selected West Coast markets. Essex currently has ownership interests in 252 apartment communities comprising approximately 62,000 apartment homes with an additional property in active development.