ESRT vs ESS vs SUI Stock Comparison

Empire State Realty Trust, Essex Property Trust and Sun Communities Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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SUI Sun Communities Inc
$114.94 +2.4% 1M -7.7% 1Y
Market cap
$13.79B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$2.41B
Div. yield
3.83%
Residential REITs Real Estate
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Essex Property Trust leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Essex Property Trust 6, Sun Communities 5). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionESRTESSSUILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $864.10M $17.67B $13.79B ESS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 280.0x 42.7x -18.4x ESS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 52.8x — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +2.0% +4.7% +18.4% SUI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 0.4% 21.5% -31.4% ESS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -1.1% — 3.5% SUI
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.0x 5.3x 1.4x SUI
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 3.08% 3.76% 3.83% SUI
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -36.8% +4.8% -7.7% ESS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -12.8%/yr -4.5%/yr -10.2%/yr ESS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 36.6% 20.1% 20.6% ESS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 35/100 46/100 49/100 SUI

Percentile Scorecard

ESRTESSSUI

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

AxisESRTESSSUI
Valuation 78 #33 of 145 12 #128 of 145 37 #92 of 145
Growth 1 #139 of 141 34 #93 of 141 34 #94 of 141
Profitability 26 #99 of 134 93 #10 of 134 35 #87 of 134
Financial Health 57 #60 of 138 51 #68 of 138 90 #15 of 138
Shareholder Returns 13 #114 of 131 38 #82 of 131 49 #68 of 131
Overall 35 46 49
  • ESRT ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • ESS ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • SUI ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodESRTESSSUISPY
1 month +22.4%+1.2%+2.4% -0.2%
3 months -11.1%-6.7%-7.5% +3.9%
6 months -12.2%+2.6%-10.4% +8.2%
Year to date -22.9%+5.0%-7.2% +12.9%
1 year -36.8%+4.8%-7.7% +12.3%
3 years -37.3%+33.1%+6.4% +87.4%
3 years, per year -14.4%+10.0%+2.1% +23.3%
5 years -49.6%-20.5%-41.4% +67.9%
5 years, per year -12.8%-4.5%-10.2% +10.9%
10 years -74.0%+33.5%+51.5% +261.1%
10 years, per year -12.6%+2.9%+4.2% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureESRTESSSUISPY
Volatility, 1Y 36.6%20.1%20.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 41.8%21.8%20.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.320.12-0.07 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -1.010.24-0.37 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -65.6%-45.4%-51.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -36.8%-7.9%-16.2% -1.2%
52-week high $7.96$298.33$137.18 $779.14
52-week low $3.93$239.61$110.01 $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.

MultipleESRTESSSUI
P/E now vs peer median 280.0xmedian 26.3x 42.7xmedian 26.3x -18.4xmedian 26.3x
P/S now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 4.0x 9.2xmedian 4.0x 5.7xmedian 4.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.0xmedian 14.4x 19.4xmedian 14.4x 18.6xmedian 14.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median -2.0xmedian 23.3x 30.4xmedian 23.3x 34.9xmedian 23.3x
P/B now vs peer median 0.5xmedian 1.3x 3.2xmedian 1.3x 2.6xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median -4.68median 1.91 -5.32median 1.91 0.23median 1.91

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 monthsESRTESSSUI
Revenue $784.18M $1.93B $2.41B
Gross profit – – $2.13B
Operating income -$34.52M $627.10M $256.50M
Net income $9.26M $437.61M -$772.80M
Free cash flow -$437.31M $580.66M $395.00M
EPS (diluted) $0.01 $6.44 $-6.13
Cash & equivalents $85.61M $58.33M $699.30M
Total debt $4.54B $26.96B $1.79B
Shares (diluted) 268.95M 64.28M 123.20M
Enterprise value $1.14B $17.59B $11.89B

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
MetricESRTESSSUI
P/E 280.0x 42.7x -18.4x
P/FCF -2.0x 30.4x 34.9x
P/Operating cash flow 3.8x 15.8x 16.1x
P/S 1.1x 9.2x 5.7x
P/B 0.5x 3.2x 2.6x
P/Tangible book 0.5x 3.2x 2.6x
EV/EBITDA 10.0x 19.4x 18.6x
EV/EBIT -50.2x 38.8x 58.0x
EV/Revenue 2.2x 12.6x 6.2x
EV/FCF -4.0x 41.9x 37.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 7.6x 21.7x 17.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -4.68 -5.32 0.23

Growth

14 metrics
MetricESRTESSSUI
Revenue growth (1Y) 2.0% 4.7% 18.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 2.9% 5.2% -8.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – 15.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – -5.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) -123.1% -35.4% 311.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -31.0% -2.6% 8.0%
Net income growth (1Y) -86.5% -49.8% -172.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -51.3% -7.9% -85.6%
EPS growth (1Y) -92.4% -48.2% -175.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -59.8% -8.0% -81.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -13.3% 8.3% 5.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -0.8% 5.4% 6.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -169.4% 344.6% -6.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -149.9% -3.3% 46.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricESRTESSSUI
Gross margin – – 88.3%
EBITDA margin 22.1% 64.9% 33.2%
Operating margin -4.4% 32.5% 10.6%
Pretax margin 1.3% 18.9% 3.9%
Net margin 0.4% 21.5% -31.4%
FCF margin -55.8% 30.1% 16.4%
Operating cash flow margin 29.0% 58.0% 35.5%
Return on equity 0.5% 7.9% -14.2%
Return on assets 0.2% 3.4% -7.5%
Return on invested capital -1.1% – 3.5%
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.1x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 24.6x 2.6x -1.1x
Stock comp / revenue 3.9% 0.6% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricESRTESSSUI
Debt / assets 22.4% 51.9% 18.2%
Debt / equity 0.5x 1.2x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.0x 5.3x 1.4x
Debt / FCF -2.2x 11.5x 4.5x
Liabilities / assets 58.1% 57.5% 46.1%
Equity / assets 41.9% 42.5% 53.9%
Interest coverage -0.3x 2.4x 1.6x
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricESRTESSSUI
Dividend yield 3.1% 3.8% 3.8%
Net buyback yield – 0.3% 4.0%
Shareholder yield 3.1% 4.1% 7.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) 259.1% 151.6% -71.7%
Payout ratio (FCF) -5.5% 114.2% 140.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) 2.2% 4.0% -46.4%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 1.9% 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.

ConsensusESRTESSSUI
Forward P/E – 52.8xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.35FY2027 $5.21FY2026 $-5.88FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -240.0%FY2027 -49.9%FY2026 -154.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +29.6% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $758.24MFY2026 $2.05BFY2026 $2.04BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -1.3%FY2026 +9.2%FY2026 -11.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.5% -7.5% -4.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersESRTESSSUI
Held by institutions 83.6% 100.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 228 630 530
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.4% +4.7% +6.1%
Institutions buying 141 348 258
Institutions selling 51 183 197
Buyers to sellers 2.76 1.90 1.31

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.

ESRTESSSUI
ESRT 1.00 0.40 0.32
ESS 0.40 1.00 0.51
SUI 0.32 0.51 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ESRT, ESS and SUI?

Essex Property Trust (ESS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) $864.10M, Essex Property Trust (ESS) $17.67B, Sun Communities (SUI) $13.79B.

Which stock is cheaper, ESRT, ESS and SUI?

Essex Property Trust (ESS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) 280.0x, Essex Property Trust (ESS) 42.7x, Sun Communities (SUI) -18.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Sun Communities (SUI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) +2.0%, Essex Property Trust (ESS) +4.7%, Sun Communities (SUI) +18.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Essex Property Trust (ESS) has the highest net margin (Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) 0.4%, Essex Property Trust (ESS) 21.5%, Sun Communities (SUI) -31.4%). On return on invested capital, Sun Communities (SUI) leads (Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) -1.1%, Sun Communities (SUI) 3.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Essex Property Trust (ESS) returned the most: Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) -36.8%, Essex Property Trust (ESS) +4.8%, Sun Communities (SUI) -7.7%. Over five years, Essex Property Trust (ESS) compounded fastest (Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) -12.8%/yr, Essex Property Trust (ESS) -4.5%/yr, Sun Communities (SUI) -10.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Sun Communities (SUI) has the highest dividend yield: Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) 3.08%, Essex Property Trust (ESS) 3.76%, Sun Communities (SUI) 3.83%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Essex Property Trust (ESS) has been the steadiest (Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) 36.6%, Essex Property Trust (ESS) 20.1%, Sun Communities (SUI) 20.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ESRT, ESS and SUI?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Essex Property Trust (ESS) leads on 6. 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.