Essex Property Trust, Inc. (ESS) stock analysis

P/E above its 5-year median

Essex Property Trust's P/E of 50.8 is above its own 5-year median of 33.3.

P/E above the industry

Essex Property Trust's P/E of 50.8 is above the Miscellaneous Investing median of 26.3.

EV/EBITDA above its 5-year median

Essex Property Trust's EV/EBITDA of 14.9 is above its 5-year median of 13.8.

P/B above the industry

Essex Property Trust's price-to-book of 3.33 is above the Miscellaneous Investing median of 1.20.

Trading above fair value

The share price of $274.00 is above our fair value estimate of $186.78.

Margin of safety under 20%

The price is 46.7% above fair value, so there is no margin of safety.

Revenue growing under 10% a year

Revenue grew 5.5% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.

EPS growing 10%+ a year

Diluted EPS grew 18.4% a year over the last three fiscal years.

Earnings acceleration

Needs positive net income now, a year ago and five years ago.

Growing slower than the industry

Revenue grew 4.5% over the last twelve months; the Miscellaneous Investing median is 4.6%.

Guidance lowered

Essex Property Trust lowered its full-year 2026 Total FFO per diluted share outlook on Jul 29, 2026.

Gross margin improving

Gross margin was 70.1% over the last twelve months, against 69.9% a year earlier.

Return on equity

Needs positive equity and five years of results.

Return on capital under 10%

Return on invested capital was 8.4%, below the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.

Return on equity against the industry

Needs positive equity.

Earnings over 5 years

Needs positive net income five years ago and in the latest year.

Net margin against its history

Needs five years of revenue and net income.

Net margin against the industry

Needs revenue and net income.

Debt level

Needs debt and equity figures.

Debt trend

Needs a balance sheet from five years ago with positive equity.

Debt coverage

Needs operating cash flow.

Interest not well covered

Operating income covers interest expense 2.2 times; we look for at least 5.

Short-term liquidity

The balance sheet is not split into current and non-current items.

Elevated bankruptcy risk

The Altman Z-score is 1.74; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.

Pays a dividend

Essex Property Trust paid dividends worth 3.8% of the share price over the last twelve months.

Yield below Treasuries

The 3.8% yield is below the 4.4% on a 1-year Treasury.

Yield below the top quarter

The top quarter of US dividend payers yield 3.8% or more; Essex Property Trust yields 3.8%.

Dividend not cut

The dividend per share has not fallen by more than 10% in any of the last 10 fiscal years.

Earnings cover

Needs dividends paid and net income.

Cash-flow cover

Needs dividends paid and free cash flow.