Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Invests $52,000 in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 185 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $52,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ESS. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the first quarter worth $31,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the first quarter valued at $34,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 56.3% in the first quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 136 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS opened at $255.94 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $263.21 and a 200-day moving average of $275.14. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $243.85 and a one year high of $316.29. The company has a market cap of $16.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.21 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by $0.04. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 43.51% and a return on equity of 13.98%. The company had revenue of $465.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $466.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.94 EPS. Essex Property Trust has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 3.890-3.990 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 15.800-16.020 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ESS shares. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $301.50 to $305.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $298.00 to $297.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $295.00 to $283.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $306.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.28.

Essex Property Trust 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.