Wedbush Forecasts Weaker Earnings for Essex Property Trust

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) – Equities researchers at Wedbush lowered their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Essex Property Trust in a research report issued on Wednesday, November 6th. Wedbush analyst R. Anderson now anticipates that the real estate investment trust will post earnings per share of $16.08 for the year, down from their prior forecast of $16.44. Wedbush currently has a “Neutral” rating and a $301.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Essex Property Trust’s current full-year earnings is $15.56 per share.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by ($2.04). The firm had revenue of $450.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $445.88 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 31.55% and a return on equity of 9.72%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.78 EPS.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $309.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.00.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 2.7 %

ESS opened at $304.66 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $19.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.59, a PEG ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 0.88. Essex Property Trust has a 52 week low of $204.64 and a 52 week high of $317.73. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $297.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $281.33.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 114.49%.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $735,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $735,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at $775,500. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.10, for a total value of $2,546,008.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 9,494 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,559.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,402 shares of company stock worth $6,399,663. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 214.3% during the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 600.0% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 112 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 121.8% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 193 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.