ESS · REIT · FFO, book-value and yield view
Essex Property Trust, Inc. (ESS): Valuation Snapshot
Essex Property Trust, Inc. (ESS) is a real-estate investment trust, and a discounted-cash-flow model is the wrong lens for one, so TickerWorth does not publish a DCF fair value for it. What its filings and market data do show is below. Snapshot as of Oct 19, 2026.
Model by Miraaj Patel · generated from public market data · Updated Oct 19, 2026 · How these pages are made
How is a REIT like ESS valued?
This is a REIT. A free-cash-flow DCF is structurally the wrong lens for property: heavy depreciation and continuous property capex swamp reported free cash flow, which is why REITs are valued on FFO/AFFO, net asset value and dividend yield. We show those lenses instead of a DCF number we would not stand behind.
What is ESS's TickerWorth Score?
Scores lower than almost every company we compare it with
Compared with Real Estate companies in US
Its strongest point: recent price trend has been strong. Its weakest: looks expensive on the numbers.
- Value · 34 of 100
Cheaper than 34% of Real Estate companies in US
- Price vs worth · — of 100
- Quality · 50 of 100
More profitable than 50% of Real Estate companies in US
- Financial health · 28 of 100
Financially stronger than 28% of Real Estate companies in US
- Growth · 24 of 100
Growing faster than 24% of Real Estate companies in US
- Momentum · 65 of 100
Outperformed 65% of Real Estate companies in US over the past year
Confidence: Medium confidence · Scored
Get the Undervalued Company of the Week.
- Price
- $267.99
- Market cap
- $18,
471, 530, 496 - 52-week high
- $303.35
- 52-week low
- $238.46
- Currency
- USD
- Exchange
- NYSE
Snapshot of Oct 19, 2026, quote time not published · Prices are delayed.
What we can say
Essex Property Trust, Inc. (ESS) is a real-estate investment trust, and a free-cash-flow discounted-cash-flow (DCF) model is structurally the wrong lens for one. A REIT's reported free cash flow is swamped by property depreciation and the continuous capital spending that maintaining a portfolio requires, which is why the industry is valued on funds from operations (FFO/AFFO), net asset value and dividend yield instead. We have the data to print a DCF number for ESS; we don't publish one because it would not mean what it appears to mean. What follows is how a REIT is actually read — descriptive, not a valuation, and not investment advice.
Read the full reasoning
On the numbers we do have, ESS trades at a recent price of $267.99, a market capitalisation of about $18,471,530,496, sitting 46% of the way up its 52-week range ($238.46–$303.35), on the NYSE.
The standard alternative to a DCF is relative valuation — comparing ESS's trading multiples against a sector benchmark. Here that gives P/E of 41.7× (richer than the peer median of 27.7×); Fwd P/E of 43.0× (richer than the peer median of 36.1×); P/B of 3.2× (cheaper than the peer median of 6.8×); P/S of 9.3× (in line with the peer median of 9.8×); EV/EBITDA of 19.7× (in line with the peer median of 19.3×); Dividend yield of 3.9% (in line with the peer median of 3.9%). A cheaper multiple than peers can flag a discount or a market that expects weaker growth; it is a comparison, not a recommendation.
The asset, or book-value, lens is the classic tool for asset-heavy businesses and financials. ESS shows a price-to-book (P/B) of 3.24 and book value of $82.83 per share. Price-to-book compares the market price to the accounting net-asset value per share; below 1.0 can mean a discount to net assets or that the market is pricing in trouble — descriptive either way, never a buy signal on its own.
Finally, a price-based read — explicitly not a valuation. ESS is in a mixed trend, trading -11.7% from its 52-week high. Over the past year the stock is +3.3%. Moving-average trend and 52-week position describe where the stock has traded; they say nothing about what it is worth.
To be exact about what this page is not: we are not saying the numbers for ESS are unavailable. They are, and they are above. We are saying a discounted-cash-flow model is the wrong instrument for this kind of business, and publishing one anyway — because the inputs happen to exist — would be a precise answer to the wrong question. Refusing is the more useful answer, and it is the same rule we apply to every name in this category.
ESS vs peers
Sector benchmark (bellwethers, not direct competitors).
| Multiple | ESS | Peer median | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | 41.7× | 27.7× | richer than |
| Fwd P/E | 43.0× | 36.1× | richer than |
| P/B | 3.2× | 6.8× | cheaper than |
| P/S | 9.3× | 9.8× | in line with |
| EV/EBITDA | 19.7× | 19.3× | in line with |
| Dividend yield | 3.9% | 3.9% | in line with |
What does Essex Property Trust, Inc. do?
What does it do?
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. It operates in the REIT - Residential industry (Real Estate sector), headquartered in United States. The company employs roughly 1,686 people.
How does it make money?
The business turns $9M in annual revenue into profit. Out of every $100 of sales, about $34 is left as operating profit (operating margin of 34.0%), after a 69% gross margin on the products/services it sells. After all costs, taxes and interest, 20.9% of revenue becomes bottom-line net profit.
Is it financially healthy?
Financially it looks stretched: carries moderate debt (1.2× equity), may struggle to cover its short-term bills (0.2× current ratio), and is currently profitable.
Who at ESS filed insider trades?
| Date | Insider | Relationship | What happened | Value | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kasaris Mary | Director | Open-market sale | $167,670.00 | Form 4 for Kasaris Mary (opens sec.gov in a new tab) | |
| GUERICKE KEITH R | Director | Grant / award | — | Form 4 for GUERICKE KEITH R (opens sec.gov in a new tab) | |
| Arabia John V | Director | Grant / award | — | Form 4 for Arabia John V (opens sec.gov in a new tab) | |
| MARCUS GEORGE M | Director | Grant / award | — | Form 4 for MARCUS GEORGE M (opens sec.gov in a new tab) | |
| Johnson Amal M | Director | Grant / award | — | Form 4 for Johnson Amal M (opens sec.gov in a new tab) | |
| HAWTHORNE MARIA R | Director | Grant / award | — | Form 4 for HAWTHORNE MARIA R (opens sec.gov in a new tab) |
A disclosure, not a signal to trade. Source: SEC EDGAR (Form 4). Older filings and the 90-day buying-and-selling read are part of Pro. See plans
Companies we do put a number on
Not investment advice. TickerWorth Score is a model output.
A descriptive, available-data snapshot and relative comparison — NOT a DCF, NOT a price target, and NOT investment advice. TickerWorth is not a licensed investment adviser, and these figures are estimates from public market data that can be wrong, stale or incomplete.