ESS Essex Property Trust
$268.14
▼ 0.6%Updated Oct 16, 2:25 PM ET
Report Card
ESS at a glance — five pillars scored 0–100 from real filed financials.
How the 0–100 rating is calculatedOverall: Neutral · 50/100. A wider, greener shape means more pillars look healthy. Dividends scores 0 when a company pays none — that is a choice, not a flaw.
Price — Past Year
▼ Down 3.6% in the year to Jul 6, 2026
Key Metrics
Market Cap
$19.17B
P/E
30.17x
Forward P/E (est.)
35.49x
ROE
10.3%
Revenue Growth
5.3%
EPS Growth
-15.0%
Profit Margin
30.0%
FCF Yield
6.1%
Debt / Equity
1.23x
ROIC
6.0%
Interest Coverage
4.22x
Current Ratio
—
Dividend Yield
3.7%
Implied Growth (rev. DCF)
—
Rating Score
50/100
Business Overview
Essex Property Trust (ESS) is a large-cap company in the Multi-Family Residential REITs industry, part of the Real Estate sector of the S&P 500, with a market value around $19.17B.
In its latest reported year it generated about $1.89B in revenue.
Our model rates ESS Neutral (50/100) on growth, profitability, financial health, and valuation. The summary below is built from its filed financials and current ratios and refreshes automatically.
Economic Moat
Evidence of durable competitive advantage in the filed financials (9 years of history).
Profit margins and economic moats, explainedThe filed history looks like a business competitors struggle to attack: high and steady margins, revenue that grows through cycles, and strong returns on capital.
40.8% average over the last 3 years
±4.3 pts around 37.0% across 9 years
grew in 7 of the last 8 year-over-year periods
positive in 9 of 9 years
6.0% latest fiscal year
A moat can't be proven by numbers alone — this scores the evidence a durable advantage leaves behind (pricing power, consistency, returns on capital), computed the same way for every stock. Pair it with the business overview before concluding anything.
Technical Analysis (Educational)
Technical analysis reads price and volume to judge momentum and timing. It complements the fundamentals above — it does not replace them. Here is what ESS's chart says today, with each tool explained.
Trend — moving averages. A moving average is the average closing price over a window, which smooths out daily noise. ESS trades near $268.14, around its 50-day average ($275.08) and 200-day average ($260.71). Price tangled in its moving averages means there is no clear trend — the stock is ranging.
Momentum — RSI. The Relative Strength Index runs 0–100 and measures how strong recent gains are versus losses. Above 70 is "overbought", below 30 "oversold". At 69 it is in neutral territory — neither stretched nor washed out.
MACD. MACD compares two moving averages to flag shifts in momentum. Its histogram is currently positive — short-term momentum is improving.
Volatility — ATR. Average True Range is the typical daily move. ESS's is $5.78 (~2.2% of price), so swings of about that size each day are normal — handy for setting a stop that isn't too tight.
Support & resistance. In the month to Jul 6, 2026, ESS found buyers near $271.66 (support) and sellers near $299.29 (resistance); its 52-week range then was $238.46–$299.29. A decisive break beyond either edge often marks the next move.
Volume. The latest session traded 0.8× the 20-day average — about normal. Rising volume on up-days suggests real buying; on down-days, real selling.
Educational information to help you read a chart — not a recommendation or a forecast. The indicators were last computed on Jul 6, 2026; the price is current.
Revenue Growth
4Y CAGR
7.0%
Revenue moved from $1.36B in 2017 to $1.89B in 2025, a 4.1% compound annual growth rate. The most recent year grew a steady 5.3% year over year. Slower, mature growth is common for established businesses.
Profitability
Gross Margin
69.9%
Operating Margin
47.6%
Net Margin
30.0%
ROE
10.3%
Essex Property Trust keeps about 30.0% of each sales dollar as net profit, with a 69.9% gross margin and 47.6% operating margin. Return on equity is 10.3% and return on invested capital about 6.0%. Margins this wide usually signal pricing power or a cost advantage.
Debt Analysis
Total Debt
$6.39B
Net Debt
$6.33B
Net Debt / EBITDA
7.04x
Debt / Equity
1.23x
Leverage: debt-to-equity is 1.2x, and operating profit covers interest about 4.2x. That is a moderate, manageable debt load for most businesses. It carries roughly $6.39B of total debt against $58.33M of cash.
Cash Flow Analysis
Operating CF
$1.07B
Free Cash Flow
$1.07B
FCF Margin
56.9%
In the latest year Essex Property Trust produced about $1.07B of operating cash flow and $1.07B of free cash flow after capital spending. That is a free-cash-flow yield of about 6.1% on today's price. Strong cash generation funds dividends, buybacks, and reinvestment.
Dividend Safety
Can the payout survive a bad year? Scored from filed cash flow, earnings coverage, and the raise/cut record.
What to look for in a dividend stockThe dividend is being paid, but coverage or consistency is thinner than an income investor should rely on without a closer look.
Dividend yield
3.7%
Per share (latest FY)
$10.28
Total paid (latest FY)
$662.20M
History on record
3 years
dividend uses 62% of free cash flow
total dividends increased 2 years in a row
no cuts in the last 3 years on record
Coverage uses the latest fiscal year as filed with the SEC; the streak counts total dollars paid (per-share figures can carry split artifacts). Educational information, not income advice.
Valuation Analysis
P/E
30.17x
P/S
9.58x
P/B
2.93x
EV / EBITDA
—
ESS trades at 30.2x trailing earnings (about 35.5x on estimated forward earnings), 9.6x sales, and 2.9x book value. That is a premium multiple that needs growth to justify it.
Metrics vs. Sector Range
Where ESS sits versus the Real Estate companies we cover.
Bands show the middle half (25th–75th percentile) of the 33 Real Estate companies in our coverage that have fundamentals data — the peer-relative anchor professional comps analysis uses. Context only — not investment advice.
Sector Peer Comparison
How ESS stacks up against its Real Estate peers — valuation, profitability, and growth versus the sector median.
Among the 33 rated Real Estate companies we cover, ESS ranks #20 by our overall rating. It trades at roughly in line versus the sector on earnings (30.2x P/E vs. 29.9x median) with a higher return on equity (10.3% vs. 8.0%) and slower revenue growth (5.3% vs. 5.3%).
P/E vs sector
30.2x
median 29.9x
ROE vs sector
10.3%
median 8.0%
Growth vs sector
5.3%
median 5.3%
Sector rank
#20
of 33 rated
Valuation vs. quality map
The sweet spot is upper-left: more profitable (higher ROE) for a lower P/E. Dashed lines mark the sector median.
Peers are the closest Real Estate companies by sub-industry and size, preferring ones with full data. Sector medians and rank use the 33 rated companies among the 41 Real Estate stocks we cover. Educational, not a recommendation.
5-Year Projection Model
Project revenue → earnings → price. Edit the assumptions to build your own case.
What drives this projection, and its limits2030 scenario price range (Base Case)
$181.93 – $303.21
vs. $268.14 today · implied CAGR -7% – 2%
| Metric | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.98B | $2.08B | $2.18B | $2.29B | $2.41B |
| Net income | $594.51M | $624.24M | $655.45M | $688.22M | $722.64M |
| EPS | $8.32 | $8.73 | $9.17 | $9.63 | $10.11 |
| Share price (low) | $149.67 | $157.16 | $165.01 | $173.26 | $181.93 |
| Share price (high) | $249.45 | $261.93 | $275.02 | $288.77 | $303.21 |
| CAGR (low–high) | -44% / -7% | -23% / -1% | -15% / 1% | -10% / 2% | -7% / 2% |
Educational scenario model, not a forecast or investment advice. It starts from the latest annual revenue in SEC filings. By default, growth is trailing revenue growth (held between 3% and 45% a year), the net margin is the latest one (held between 3% and 50%, so a loss-making company is modeled with a small profit), and the Base case P/E runs from 60% to 100% of today's. Carrying recent growth forward five years can miss badly in either direction. Outputs are only as good as the assumptions.
Bull Case
The case for ESS:
- High net margins (30.0%) point to pricing power or efficiency.
- Healthy free-cash-flow yield (~6.1%) funds buybacks and dividends.
- Pays a 3.7% dividend on top of any price gains.
Bear Case
The case against ESS:
- Like any single stock, it is exposed to competition, the economic cycle, and shifts in its end markets.
Key Risks
Valuation risk — at 30.2x earnings, disappointing results could compress the multiple.
Balance-sheet risk — debt/equity of 1.2x magnifies the impact of higher rates or weaker earnings.
Market risk — sector rotation, the economic cycle, and broad sentiment move the stock regardless of fundamentals.
Investment Thesis
On balance, the picture is mixed: Essex Property Trust is a large-cap real estate business growing at a mature pace, with solid profitability, and a heavier debt load to watch. It trades at 30.2x earnings, which our model scores Neutral (50/100). Weigh this against your own goals and time horizon — this is educational information, not a recommendation.
Analyst Ratings
What 31 Wall Street analysts covering ESS recommend (September 2026). Consensus is a useful sanity check — not a substitute for your own homework.
Analysts have turned more positive over the last three months (+13 pts of buy ratings).
Latest SEC Filings
ESS's most recent filings, straight from SEC EDGAR. Annual and quarterly reports are the deep dives; 8-Ks flag material events the moment they happen. How to read a 10-K
In the Idea Lab
ESS — frequently asked questions
Is ESS a good stock to buy?
We don't give buy or sell advice. Our model rates Essex Property Trust Neutral (50/100) based on its growth, profitability, financial health, and valuation — use that as a research starting point and make your own decision.
What is ESS's rating on The Stocks School?
Essex Property Trust currently scores 50/100 (Neutral) on our transparent model, which weighs real fundamentals: growth, margins, returns on capital, balance-sheet strength, and valuation.
How our ratings work →Where does ESS's data come from?
Live price data plus real fundamentals and 5-year financials pulled directly from Essex Property Trust's SEC filings — refreshed automatically, not hand-entered.
How is the 5-year projection for ESS calculated?
It's a scenario model. It starts from the latest annual revenue and net margin in SEC filings, grows revenue at an assumed rate (trailing revenue growth by default), and applies a P/E range built around today's multiple to show the resulting share-price range. When a stock has no growth or P/E data, the starting values are placeholders. It's a tool for thinking, not a prediction.
Is this ESS analysis financial advice?
No. Everything on this page is educational research, not financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell ESS. Always do your own research and consider a licensed professional.
Data notice. Fundamentals and financial statements are sourced from company filings (SEC EDGAR) and market-data providers; prices and market caps refresh on trading days and may be delayed. Ratings, projections, technical signals, and written summaries are model- or rule-generated for education and may simplify or lag the latest filings.
Not advice. Nothing on this page is investment advice or a recommendation to buy, hold, or sell any security. Do your own research and consult a licensed financial professional before investing.