CPT vs MAA vs ESS Stock Comparison

Camden Property Trust, Mid America Apartment Communities and Essex Property Trust Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CPT Camden Property Trust
$102.02 +4.5% 1M -2.8% 1Y
Market cap
$10.44B
P/E
32.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$13.12M
Div. yield
–
Residential REITs Real Estate
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Camden Property Trust leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Camden Property Trust 4, Mid America Apartment Communities 4, Essex Property Trust 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCPTMAAESSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $10.44B $13.87B $17.70B ESS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 32.0x 34.7x 42.8x CPT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 85.7x 33.5x 53.3x MAA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +56.8% +0.8% +4.7% CPT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2,486.2% 18.0% 21.5% CPT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 5.3% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 4.5x 5.3x MAA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.05% 0.04% MAA
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -2.8% -10.9% +5.6% ESS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -8.5%/yr -9.9%/yr -3.7%/yr ESS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 20.1% 19.8% 20.1% MAA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 51/100 50/100 46/100 CPT

Percentile Scorecard

CPTMAAESS

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisCPTMAAESS
Valuation 13 #126 of 145 42 #85 of 145 13 #127 of 145
Growth 73 #39 of 144 15 #123 of 144 36 #92 of 144
Profitability 46 #76 of 140 87 #19 of 140 93 #11 of 140
Financial Health 34 #97 of 146 62 #56 of 146 50 #74 of 146
Shareholder Returns 88 #17 of 132 44 #74 of 132 38 #82 of 132
Overall 51 50 46
  • CPT ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • MAA ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • ESS ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodCPTMAAESSSPY
1 month +4.5%+1.6%+1.8% -1.0%
3 months -10.3%-10.6%-5.1% +2.9%
6 months +0.3%-4.7%+9.0% +6.4%
Year to date -7.3%-13.8%+6.4% +11.4%
1 year -2.8%-10.9%+5.6% +13.1%
3 years +8.9%-7.8%+29.7% +79.4%
3 years, per year +2.9%-2.7%+9.1% +21.5%
5 years -35.9%-40.7%-17.0% +67.7%
5 years, per year -8.5%-9.9%-3.7% +10.9%
10 years +29.5%+29.8%+34.7% +255.2%
10 years, per year +2.6%+2.6%+3.0% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureCPTMAAESSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 20.1%19.8%20.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 20.6%19.2%21.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.080.040.12 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.14-0.550.28 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -53.0%-50.2%-45.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -13.2%-15.8%-6.7% -2.5%
52-week high $117.53$142.19$298.33 $779.14
52-week low $95.82$114.20$239.61 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleCPTMAAESS
P/E now vs peer median 32.0xmedian 27.0x 34.8xmedian 27.0x 43.2xmedian 27.0x
P/S now vs peer median 781.7xmedian 4.1x 6.3xmedian 4.1x 9.3xmedian 4.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 14.5x 15.4xmedian 14.5x 19.6xmedian 14.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median -48.5xmedian 23.7x 29.3xmedian 23.7x 30.8xmedian 23.7x
P/B now vs peer median 2.6xmedian 1.3x 2.5xmedian 1.3x 3.3xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median 1.71median 2.07 -2.84median 2.07 -5.39median 2.07

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsCPTMAAESS
Revenue $13.12M $2.22B $1.93B
Operating income – – $627.10M
Net income $336.62M $410.71M $437.61M
Free cash flow -$211.62M $473.83M $580.66M
EPS (diluted) $3.19 $3.44 $6.44
Cash & equivalents $44.72M $51.84M $58.33M
Total debt $16.74B $21.95B $26.96B
Shares (diluted) 102.36M 116.14M 64.28M
Enterprise value $10.31B $13.66B $17.46B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricCPTMAAESS
P/E 32.0x 34.8x 43.2x
P/FCF -48.5x 29.3x 30.8x
P/Operating cash flow 12.7x 13.7x 16.0x
P/S 781.7x 6.3x 9.3x
P/B 2.6x 2.5x 3.3x
P/Tangible book 2.6x 2.5x 3.3x
EV/EBITDA – 15.4x 19.6x
EV/EBIT – 31.6x 39.1x
EV/Revenue 1,148x 8.8x 12.7x
EV/FCF -71.2x 41.2x 42.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 18.7x 19.3x 21.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.71 -2.84 -5.39

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCPTMAAESS
Revenue growth (1Y) 56.8% 0.8% 4.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 66.5% 1.6% 5.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – – -35.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – – -2.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 108.1% -30.0% -49.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 16.0% -12.5% -7.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 123.5% -29.0% -48.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 18.7% -12.2% -8.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 1.8% -8.0% 8.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 1.1% -4.2% 5.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -377.3% -12.0% 344.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -36.7% -4.5% -3.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCPTMAAESS
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin – 57.1% 64.9%
Operating margin – – 32.5%
Pretax margin – 18.8% 18.9%
Net margin 2,486% 18.0% 21.5%
FCF margin -1,613% 21.4% 30.1%
Operating cash flow margin 6,154% 45.6% 58.0%
Return on equity 8.4% 7.3% 7.9%
Return on assets 3.6% 3.4% 3.4%
Return on invested capital – 5.3% –
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.0x 0.2x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.4x 2.5x 2.6x
Stock comp / revenue 128.3% 0.9% 0.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCPTMAAESS
Debt / assets 51.3% 47.5% 51.9%
Debt / equity 1.3x 1.0x 1.2x
Net debt / EBITDA – 4.5x 5.3x
Debt / FCF -22.9x 12.0x 11.5x
Liabilities / assets 59.0% 53.5% 57.5%
Equity / assets 41.0% 46.5% 42.5%
Interest coverage – 3.1x 2.4x
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCPTMAAESS
Dividend yield 4.1% 5.1% 3.7%
Net buyback yield 6.6% 0.9% 0.3%
Shareholder yield 10.8% 6.0% 4.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 173.3% 151.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 150.2% 114.2%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 2.0% 4.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 5.1% 4.8%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusCPTMAAESS
Forward P/E 85.7xFY2026 33.5xFY2026 53.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.19FY2026 $3.57FY2026 $5.22FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -66.4%FY2026 -5.6%FY2026 -49.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +0.8% -8.1% +29.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.60BFY2026 $2.29BFY2026 $2.05BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.1%FY2026 +3.8%FY2026 +9.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -8.2% +1.5% -7.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCPTMAAESS
Held by institutions 100.0% 97.1% 100.0%
Institutions holding 575 771 630
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.4% +8.2% +4.7%
Institutions buying 267 395 348
Institutions selling 213 262 183
Buyers to sellers 1.25 1.51 1.90

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

CPTMAAESS
CPT 1.00 0.92 0.83
MAA 0.92 1.00 0.80
ESS 0.83 0.80 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CPT, MAA and ESS?

Essex Property Trust (ESS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Camden Property Trust (CPT) $10.44B, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) $13.87B, Essex Property Trust (ESS) $17.70B.

Which stock is cheaper, CPT, MAA and ESS?

Camden Property Trust (CPT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Camden Property Trust (CPT) 32.0x, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) 34.7x, Essex Property Trust (ESS) 42.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) is cheapest (Camden Property Trust (CPT) 85.7x, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) 33.5x, Essex Property Trust (ESS) 53.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Camden Property Trust (CPT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Camden Property Trust (CPT) +56.8%, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) +0.8%, Essex Property Trust (ESS) +4.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Camden Property Trust (CPT) has the highest net margin (Camden Property Trust (CPT) 2,486.2%, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) 18.0%, Essex Property Trust (ESS) 21.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Essex Property Trust (ESS) returned the most: Camden Property Trust (CPT) -2.8%, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) -10.9%, Essex Property Trust (ESS) +5.6%. Over five years, Essex Property Trust (ESS) compounded fastest (Camden Property Trust (CPT) -8.5%/yr, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) -9.9%/yr, Essex Property Trust (ESS) -3.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) has the highest dividend yield: Camden Property Trust (CPT) 0.00%, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) 0.05%, Essex Property Trust (ESS) 0.04%. Camden Property Trust (CPT) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) has been the steadiest (Camden Property Trust (CPT) 20.1%, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) 19.8%, Essex Property Trust (ESS) 20.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CPT, MAA and ESS?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Camden Property Trust (CPT) leads on 4. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.