Heartland Advisors Inc. Cuts Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Heartland Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 27.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 26,855 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 10,366 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $7,027,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 57.5% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 115 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 120.0% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 176 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the third quarter valued at about $51,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $278.00 to $281.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $290.00 to $291.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $288.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In other news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.45, for a total transaction of $167,670.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $669,003.30. The trade was a 20.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.47% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

ESS stock opened at $284.59 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.98, a PEG ratio of 12.30 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $264.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $258.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $238.46 and a 12-month high of $294.09.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.96 by ($2.31). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 10.00% and a net margin of 30.03%.The business had revenue of $484.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $479.89 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.97 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $2.59 dividend. This represents a $10.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.40%.

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.