San Mateo, California-based Essex Property Trust, Inc. (ESS) is a REIT engaged in the acquisition, development, redevelopment and management of multifamily residential properties in supply-constrained markets. With a market cap of $19.2 billion, Essex operates as a leader in the West Coast multifamily housing market and holds ownership stakes in 250+ apartment communities and 62,000+ homes.
The real estate giant has notably outperformed the broader market over the past year. ESS stock has soared 31.4% over the past 52 weeks and 5.5% on a YTD basis, compared to the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 17% surge over the past year and 1.3% returns in 2025.
Zooming in further, Essex has also significantly outperformed the Residential REIT ETF’s (HAUS) 22.2% gains over the past year and 3.1% returns on a YTD basis.
Essex Property Trust’s stock surged over 3% in the trading session after the release of its impressive Q4 results on Feb. 4. Driven by a notable increase in same-property revenues, the company reported a robust 6.4% year-over-year growth in overall revenues to $1.8 billion which surpassed the Street’s expectations. Furthermore, the company observed a resilient 1.7% year-over-year growth in net operating income compared to the year-ago quarter. Meanwhile, its core funds from operations (FFO) increased 2.3% year-over-year to $3.92 per share, exceeding the street’s expectations by a small margin.
For the current fiscal 2025, ending in December, analysts expect ESS to deliver a 2.2% year-over-year growth in core FFO to $15.94 per share. On a more positive note, the company has a robust FFO surprise history. It has surpassed the Street’s FFO estimates in each of the past four quarters.
Among the 27 analysts covering the ESS stock, the consensus rating is a “Moderate Buy.” That’s based on seven “Strong Buy,” one “Moderate Buy,” 17 “Hold,” and two “Strong Sell” ratings.
This configuration is notably more bullish than two months ago when only five analysts gave “Strong Buy” recommendations and Essex had a consensus “Hold” rating overall.
On Feb. 10, Evercore ISI Group analyst Steve Sakwa reiterated an “In-Line” rating on ESS, while raising the price target to $302.
ESS’ mean price target of $307.60 represents a modest 2.1% premium to current price levels, while its street-high target of $370 indicates a notable 22.8% upside potential.
