Zacks Research Has Pessimistic Outlook of ESS Q2 Earnings

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) – Research analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q2 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Essex Property Trust in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, February 25th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the real estate investment trust will post earnings per share of $4.00 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $4.01. The consensus estimate for Essex Property Trust’s current full-year earnings is $15.96 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Essex Property Trust’s Q3 2025 earnings at $3.97 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $15.92 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $4.12 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $4.12 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $4.14 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $16.51 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $306.63.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

ESS opened at $311.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Essex Property Trust has a 52-week low of $226.84 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.04 billion, a PE ratio of 27.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $286.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $293.76.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.08%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the third quarter valued at $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Company Profile

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.