Essex Property Trust has properties in Washington State and California, including
the greater San Francisco region.
Photo courtesy Stefan Bock/flickr.com.

About Essex Property Trust

Essex Property Trust is a real estate investment trust that focuses on multifamily properties and communities. Essex owns 239 communities with a total of over 57,000 apartment units across Northern and Southern California, and the Greater Seattle area. The company also owns 4 commercial buildings consisting of a total of 325,000 square feet of space. Essex is headquartered in Palo Alto, CA and employs over 1,700 people.

Essex’s history dates back when George M. Marcus formed Essex Property Corporation in 1971. The company came public in June 1994 with 16 multifamily communities, and has raised dividends each year since then.

Essex expands through acquisitions in what it considers promising areas. Specifically, the company looks to buy and/or build in areas with regional populations of at least 1 million people and with natural or artificial limits to growth, such as local regulations on development and/or geography that puts limits the available supply of residential housing.

The company’s largest acquisition was its merger with BRE Properties in April 2014. As a result of the merger, BRE Properties became a wholly owned subsidiary of Essex, and Essex diluted the number of outstanding shares by 23.1 million. At the time of the merger, BRE Properties owned or had interest in 78 multifamily communities in California and the Greater Seattle region.

As noted above, Essex Property Trust is heavily exposed to the West Coast rental market and, in particular, the California rental market. The geographical concentration of Essex’s properties represents a risk to future company operations and expansion. The majority of Essex’s properties are garden-style communities; the average property has 240 units. Nearly half (47%) of Essex’s properties are located in the Los Angeles, San Diego and Santa Barbara regions. Another 31% are located in the Greater San Francisco region. Roughly 21% of the units are located in or near Seattle, Washington.

The company is a member of the S&P 500 index and S&P’s High Yield Dividend Aristocrats index, and trades under the ticker symbol ESS.

Essex Property Trust was admitted to the S&P 500 in April 2014, at the same time as the merger with BRE Properties. Once Essex has increased dividends for 25 consecutive years, S&P will classify the company as an S&P Dividend Aristocrat.  If they continue their record of dividend growth, Essex will meet the Dividend Aristocrat criteria at the beginning of 2020.

Essex Property Trust’s Dividend and Stock Split History

Essex Property Trust has increased its annual dividends since being publicly listed in 1994. Since 2001, Essex has – with one exception in 2014 – announced dividend increases in the first quarter of the year, with the stock going ex-dividend at the end of March.

Essex Property Trust has compounded its payout at an average rate of 9.0% over the last 5 years and 6.2% over the last 10 years.

 

Essex has not split its stock since coming public in 1994.

Essex Property Trust’s Direct Purchase and Dividend Reinvestment Plans

Essex Property Trust has both direct purchase and dividend reinvestment plans. The dividend reinvestment plan allows for partial dividend reinvestment. Overall, the fee structure is not favorable for investors. When you invest for the first time, you’ll need to purchase at least $2,500 in Essex stock. The minimum for additional investments is $100. There is no fee to set up an account, but check purchases will be assessed a fee of $5; investments that are automatically deducted from your bank account will be assessed a fee of $1.50. Regardless of how you invest, Essex Property Trust pays all per share fees.

When you sell your shares in the plan, you’ll pay a fee of between $15 and $25 depending on the type of sell order you request, plus a 15-cent per share commission. Fees will be deducted from the proceeds of the sale.

Helpful Links

Essex Property Trust’s Investor Relations Website

Current quote and financial summary for Essex Property Trust (finviz.com)

Information on the direct purchase and dividend reinvestment plans for Essex Property Trust