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Essex Property Trust, Inc.NYSE:ESS Stock Report

Market Cap US$19.0b
Share Price
US$285.43
US$282.67
1.0% overvalued intrinsic discount
1Y2.3%
7D4.7%
1D
Portfolio Value
View

Essex Property Trust, Inc.

NYSE:ESS Stock Report

Market Cap: US$19.0b

ESS Community Fair Values

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Essex Property Trust, Inc. Competitors

Price History & Performance

Summary of share price highs, lows and changes for Essex Property Trust
Historical stock prices
Current Share PriceUS$285.43
52 Week HighUS$294.09
52 Week LowUS$238.46
Beta0.73
1 Month Change8.30%
3 Month Change11.78%
1 Year Change2.27%
3 Year Change21.82%
5 Year Change-9.13%
Change since IPO1,373.19%

Recent News & Updates

Narrative Update Jun 01

ESS: Spring Leasing, Dividend And Bay Area Rebound Will Shape Balanced 2026 Outlook

Narrative Update The updated analyst price target for Essex Property Trust moves slightly higher to about $283. This reflects modest adjustments to revenue growth and valuation assumptions as analysts refresh models that incorporate recent acquisition and disposition expectations and the stock's Northern California multifamily focus.
Narrative Update May 13

ESS: Spring Leasing, 2026 Dividend And Bay Area Rebound Will Guide Outlook

Analysts have nudged the Essex Property Trust price target higher, with the updated fair value estimate moving from $278.13 to $280.80, as they factor in a slightly higher discount rate, a lower revenue growth outlook, a modestly stronger profit margin, and a somewhat lower assumed future P/E, supported by a series of recent target increases and an upgrade tied to expectations for a Bay Area rebound. Analyst Commentary Recent Street research around Essex Property Trust has centered on a cluster of target changes and a rating upgrade tied to expectations for a Bay Area rebound, providing a mix of constructive and cautious takeaways for valuation, growth and execution risk.
Seeking Alpha May 05

Essex Property Trust: A Dividend Aristocrat Benefiting From The AI Housing Boom

Summary Essex Property Trust receives a Buy rating with a $289/share price target, reflecting a 9% upside from current levels. ESS benefits from AI-driven employment growth in the Bay Area and Seattle, limited new housing supply, and compelling rent-to-income dynamics supporting embedded rent growth. Q1 2026 results exceeded guidance, with Core FFO at $4.07/share and management reaffirming full-year guidance while raising total FFO and net income forecasts. ESS maintains an investment-grade balance sheet, a 32-year dividend growth streak, and trades at the lower end of its historical P/AFFO range. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha

Recent updates

Narrative Update Jun 01

ESS: Spring Leasing, Dividend And Bay Area Rebound Will Shape Balanced 2026 Outlook

Narrative Update The updated analyst price target for Essex Property Trust moves slightly higher to about $283. This reflects modest adjustments to revenue growth and valuation assumptions as analysts refresh models that incorporate recent acquisition and disposition expectations and the stock's Northern California multifamily focus.
Narrative Update May 13

ESS: Spring Leasing, 2026 Dividend And Bay Area Rebound Will Guide Outlook

Analysts have nudged the Essex Property Trust price target higher, with the updated fair value estimate moving from $278.13 to $280.80, as they factor in a slightly higher discount rate, a lower revenue growth outlook, a modestly stronger profit margin, and a somewhat lower assumed future P/E, supported by a series of recent target increases and an upgrade tied to expectations for a Bay Area rebound. Analyst Commentary Recent Street research around Essex Property Trust has centered on a cluster of target changes and a rating upgrade tied to expectations for a Bay Area rebound, providing a mix of constructive and cautious takeaways for valuation, growth and execution risk.
Seeking Alpha May 05

Essex Property Trust: A Dividend Aristocrat Benefiting From The AI Housing Boom

Summary Essex Property Trust receives a Buy rating with a $289/share price target, reflecting a 9% upside from current levels. ESS benefits from AI-driven employment growth in the Bay Area and Seattle, limited new housing supply, and compelling rent-to-income dynamics supporting embedded rent growth. Q1 2026 results exceeded guidance, with Core FFO at $4.07/share and management reaffirming full-year guidance while raising total FFO and net income forecasts. ESS maintains an investment-grade balance sheet, a 32-year dividend growth streak, and trades at the lower end of its historical P/AFFO range. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha
Narrative Update Apr 26

ESS: Spring Leasing And 2026 Dividend Will Shape Coastal Occupancy Outlook

The analyst fair value estimate for Essex Property Trust has been adjusted slightly lower to $278.13 from $279, reflecting recent Street price target changes in the $271 to $281 range as analysts factor in updated sector estimates, occupancy trends, and post-Q4 modeling. Analyst Commentary Recent Street research on Essex Property Trust clusters around a tight price target band in the low to high US$270s, with one target at US$271, another at US$278, and a higher point at US$281.
Narrative Update Apr 10

ESS: Coastal Apartments And 2026 Dividend Growth Will Support Occupancy Recovery

Narrative Update The analyst price target for Essex Property Trust has shifted slightly lower to $279.00. This reflects recent Street research in which several analysts reduced targets within the residential and U.S. multifamily REIT sector as they update models for softer occupancy trends and await clearer signs of market growth.
Narrative Update Mar 27

ESS: Coastal Apartments And 2026 Dividend Path Will Support Occupancy Recovery

Narrative Update Overview The updated analyst price target for Essex Property Trust edges down by about $0.40 to $279.22, as analysts trim fair value estimates and slightly adjust growth and margin assumptions in response to sector wide target resets, occupancy concerns, and refreshed post earnings models. Analyst Commentary Recent research on Essex Property Trust shows a mix of optimism and caution, with price targets clustered in a relatively tight band around the updated average and ratings spread between Neutral or equivalent and more constructive views.
Narrative Update Mar 11

ESS: Coastal Apartments And 2026 Dividend Path Will Test Occupancy Resilience

Narrative Update The updated analyst price target for Essex Property Trust edges slightly lower to about $280 from roughly $281, as analysts reflect sector wide target reductions, softer occupancy commentary in multifamily markets, and modest adjustments to growth and margin assumptions in their models. Analyst Commentary Recent research on Essex Property Trust reflects a mixed tone, with some analysts trimming targets on sector and occupancy concerns while others fine tune models after company specific updates.
Narrative Update Feb 25

ESS: Coastal Apartments And 2026 Dividend Outlook Balance Turnaround Hopes With Execution Risks

Analysts have trimmed their fair value estimate for Essex Property Trust by about $0.25 to roughly $281.38 per share. This reflects mixed Street price target moves and expectations for slightly softer margins, offset by modestly firmer revenue growth and a marginally lower future P/E assumption.
Narrative Update Feb 11

ESS: Coastal Apartments And 2026 Outlook Balance Turnaround Hopes With Execution Risks

Analysts have trimmed their average price expectations for Essex Property Trust by about $0.70. This reflects slightly softer revenue growth assumptions, a marginally higher discount rate, and modestly higher profit margin and P/E inputs after recent mixed target changes and rating updates across the Street.
Narrative Update Jan 27

ESS: Coastal Apartments And 2026 REIT Turnaround Will Support Long-Term Cash Flows

Narrative Update The blended analyst price target for Essex Property Trust edges slightly lower to about US$282, reflecting mixed recent revisions that include a Barclays increase to US$292, a UBS lift to US$274, and a BMO cut to US$280, as analysts balance expectations for coastal apartment demand against pockets of funds from operations pressure. Analyst Commentary Recent research on Essex Property Trust highlights a split view, with some analysts focusing on the potential for coastal apartments within a broader real estate recovery and others flagging execution headwinds tied to specific markets and capital decisions.
Narrative Update Jan 11

ESS: Coastal Apartment Turnaround And REIT Upswing Will Support Long-Term Cash Flows

Narrative Update The analyst price target for Essex Property Trust has edged slightly lower to about $280. This reflects modest adjustments to fair value inputs and ongoing analyst concerns about moderated funds from operations growth and regional headwinds in Los Angeles.
Narrative Update Dec 25

ESS: West Coast Cash Flows Will Offset Margin Pressure Amid Neutral Outlook

Analysts have trimmed their fair value estimate for Essex Property Trust by approximately $2 to about $283 per share. This reflects slightly higher discount rate assumptions and more cautious expectations around margins, despite modestly stronger projected revenue growth, and is in line with recent price target reductions and rating downgrades on the stock.
Narrative Update Dec 11

ESS: West Coast Multifamily Resilience Will Support Upbeat Outlook Despite Neutral Ratings

Analysts have trimmed their price target for Essex Property Trust slightly, with the fair value estimate edging down about $2 to roughly $285. This reflects a modest reset in expectations following recent sector-wide target updates and a more neutral stance on the shares.
Narrative Update Nov 27

ESS: Updated Guidance And Sector Shifts Will Influence Measured Outlook Ahead

Essex Property Trust's analyst price target has been lowered slightly by $1 to $297. Analysts cited updated sector earnings previews and a more neutral industry outlook as key factors in the modest revision.
Narrative Update Nov 13

ESS: Net Income Guidance Increases Will Support Ongoing Rental Strength

Essex Property Trust's analyst price target has been modestly reduced by $4.00 to $287.71. Analysts cite recent sector updates and a more cautious outlook following third-quarter earnings previews.
Narrative Update Oct 29

Falling West Coast Supply Will Drive Demand Despite Mixed Sector Sentiment

Analysts have slightly reduced their price target for Essex Property Trust by $0.56 to $291.70. They cited more cautious revenue growth projections and recent downward adjustments in sector estimates, following mixed performance among apartment REITs. Analyst Commentary Recent Street research highlights both optimism and caution regarding Essex Property Trust's outlook, as analysts reassess valuation targets and ratings in light of current market dynamics and the company's recent performance.
Narrative Update Oct 15

Limited West Coast Supply Will Boost Occupancy Yet Invite Headwinds

The consensus analyst price target for Essex Property Trust has edged down by about $3 to $292, as analysts cite tempered expectations following recent earnings results and a reassessment of growth prospects within the apartment REIT sector. Analyst Commentary Recent analyst actions reflect a nuanced view of Essex Property Trust's outlook, as updated price targets and ratings reveal both optimism and caution within the apartment REIT sector.
Narrative Update Sep 05

Limited West Coast Supply Will Boost Occupancy Yet Invite Headwinds

Analysts have modestly reset expectations for Essex Property Trust following sector underperformance and Q2 results, highlighting its relative valuation appeal and West Coast rent growth amid supply declines but noting more attractive opportunities among peers, leaving the consensus price target unchanged at $295.44. Analyst Commentary Apartment REIT sector underperformance and Q2 selloff have created rare relative valuation discounts and negative sentiment, but expectations are now reset and supply is falling.
Seeking Alpha Apr 22

Essex Property: Undervalued High Quality In Plain Sight

Summary Essex Property Trust is a reliable long-term stock with strong fundamentals in high-barrier West Coast markets, benefiting from limited new housing supply and high rental demand. ESS has demonstrated solid performance, driven by strong property-level metrics, as growth appears to be normalizing back to pre-2020 levels. ESS offers a well-covered 3.8% dividend yield and is attractively valued at a P/FFO of 17.0, which is well below its historical average. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha
Seeking Alpha Feb 06

Essex Property: Shares Have Further Upside Given Limited Housing Supply (Upgrade)

Summary Essex Property Trust, Inc. has seen a 29% increase in shares over the past year due to limited supply and higher rental inflation in California markets. Solid Q4 results, including a 2.3% increase in funds from operations and low turnover rates, support a bullish outlook for Essex into 2025. Rising costs, particularly insurance and personnel, are offset by strong demand fundamentals and limited housing supply, especially post-wildfires. With a solid balance sheet and favorable geographic position, I am upgrading ESS shares to a “buy” with a potential 12% return, including dividends. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha
Seeking Alpha Dec 06

Essex Property Trust: Limited Supply Enables Further Growth

Summary Essex Property Trust has gained 35% over the past year, benefiting from limited new apartment supply in California and a defensive geographic positioning. Essex's markets face significantly less new supply than the Sun Belt, with just 0.5% annual supply growth expected from 2023-2025. Despite rising costs, Essex maintains a solid balance sheet and expects 4-5% growth in FFO, with a fair value target of $320-325. Essex's 3.25% dividend yield is secure with nearly 1.6x coverage, supporting 5-7% dividend growth over the next three years. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha
Seeking Alpha Oct 03

Essex Property Trust: Tailwinds From Both Supply And Demand

Summary Essex Property Trust has shown impressive stock price appreciation, gaining approximately 40% in one year and outperforming all its residential peers in the S&P 500. The REIT is set to benefit from favorable supply demand dynamics in West Coast markets due to high own-to-rent cost differentials and low new housing supply. ESS boasts a strong dividend growth history, and the share price is currently fairly valued, so despite the stock price jump, the stock still remains attractive. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha
Seeking Alpha Aug 13

Essex Property Trust: High-Quality REIT With A Growing Dividend

Summary Essex Property Trust focuses on three different supply-constrained markets across the US West Coast. Both enduring demand and limited supply are working in its favor. It has increased its dividend for 30 consecutive years. That easily qualifies the company for its vaunted status as a Dividend Aristocrat - one of only three REITs that can claim such a thing. On the other hand, the stock’s 3.5% yield is on the low side for a REIT. But this yield easily beats the market and is 30 basis points higher than its own five-year average. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha
Seeking Alpha Jun 12

Essex Property Trust: The Buying Window Has Now Closed

Summary Shares of Essex Property Trust have significantly outperformed the broader market since my previous article. The residential real estate investment trust topped the analyst consensus for revenue and core FFO per share in Q1. ESS maintains a robust financial position. Shares of the REIT could be priced at a 7% discount to fair value. ESS could deliver 20% cumulative total returns through 2026, which isn't enough for me to justify a buy rating. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha

Shareholder Returns

ESSUS Residential REITsUS Market
7D4.7%3.6%-2.8%
1Y2.3%-5.3%22.8%

Return vs Industry: ESS exceeded the US Residential REITs industry which returned -5.3% over the past year.

Return vs Market: ESS underperformed the US Market which returned 23.5% over the past year.

Price Volatility

Is ESS's price volatile compared to industry and market?
ESS volatility
ESS Average Weekly Movement2.7%
Residential REITs Industry Average Movement2.9%
Market Average Movement7.2%
10% most volatile stocks in US Market16.6%
10% least volatile stocks in US Market3.1%

Stable Share Price: ESS has not had significant price volatility in the past 3 months compared to the US market.

Volatility Over Time: ESS's weekly volatility (3%) has been stable over the past year.

About the Company

FoundedEmployeesCEOWebsite
19711,688Angela Kleimanwww.essexapartmenthomes.com

Essex Property Trust, Inc., an S&P 500 company, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust. The firm acquires, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily residential properties in selected West Coast markets. Essex currently has ownership interests in 259 apartment communities comprising over 63,000 apartment homes with an additional property in active development.

Essex Property Trust, Inc. Fundamentals Summary

How do Essex Property Trust's earnings and revenue compare to its market cap?
ESS fundamental statistics
Market capUS$18.97b
Earnings (TTM)US$572.74m
Revenue (TTM)US$1.97b
32.0x
P/E Ratio
9.3x
P/S Ratio

Earnings & Revenue

Key profitability statistics from the latest earnings report (TTM)
ESS income statement (TTM)
RevenueUS$1.97b
Cost of RevenueUS$611.76m
Gross ProfitUS$1.35b
Other ExpensesUS$781.52m
EarningsUS$572.74m

Last Reported Earnings

Mar 31, 2026

Next Earnings Date

n/a

Earnings per share (EPS)8.91
Gross Margin68.88%
Net Profit Margin29.13%
Debt/Equity Ratio121.0%

How did ESS perform over the long term?

See historical performance and comparison

Dividends

3.6%
Current Dividend Yield
61%
Payout Ratio

Does ESS pay a reliable dividends?

See ESS dividend history and benchmarks
When do you need to buy ESS by to receive an upcoming dividend?
Essex Property Trust dividend dates
Ex Dividend DateJun 30 2026
Dividend Pay DateJul 15 2026
Days until Ex dividend22 days
Days until Dividend pay date37 days

Does ESS pay a reliable dividends?

See ESS dividend history and benchmarks

Company Analysis and Financial Data Status

DataLast Updated (UTC time)
Company Analysis2026/06/07 15:54
End of Day Share Price 2026/06/05 00:00
Earnings2026/03/31
Annual Earnings2025/12/31

Data Sources

The data used in our company analysis is from S&P Global Market Intelligence LLC. The following data is used in our analysis model to generate this report. Data is normalised which can introduce a delay from the source being available.

PackageDataTimeframeExample US Source *
Company Financials10 years
  • Income statement
  • Cash flow statement
  • Balance sheet
Analyst Consensus Estimates+3 years
  • Forecast financials
  • Analyst price targets
Market Prices30 years
  • Stock prices
  • Dividends, Splits and Actions
Ownership10 years
  • Top shareholders
  • Insider trading
Management10 years
  • Leadership team
  • Board of directors
Key Developments10 years
  • Company announcements

* Example for US securities, for non-US equivalent regulatory forms and sources are used.

Unless specified all financial data is based on a yearly period but updated quarterly. This is known as Trailing Twelve Month (TTM) or Last Twelve Month (LTM) Data. Learn more.

Analysis Model and Snowflake

Details of the analysis model used to generate this report is available on our Github page, we also have guides on how to use our reports and tutorials on Youtube.

Learn about the world class team who designed and built the Simply Wall St analysis model.

Industry and Sector Metrics

Our industry and section metrics are calculated every 6 hours by Simply Wall St, details of our process are available on Github.

Analyst Sources

Essex Property Trust, Inc. is covered by 39 analysts. 17 of those analysts submitted the estimates of revenue or earnings used as inputs to our report. Analysts submissions are updated throughout the day.

AnalystInstitution
Wesley GolladayBaird
Richard HightowerBarclays
Ross SmotrichBarclays