ESS vs ALX vs INVH Stock Comparison

Essex Property Trust, Alexanders and Invitation Homes Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ALX Alexanders Inc
$248.07 -0.4% 1M +7.4% 1Y
Market cap
$1.27B
P/E
7.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$214.80M
Div. yield
7.26%
Office REITs Real Estate
5 wins
INVH Invitation Homes Inc.
$26.76 +0.8% 1M -5.1% 1Y
Market cap
$15.80B
P/E
23.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.90B
Div. yield
4.48%
Residential REITs Real Estate
3 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Alexanders leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Alexanders 5, Invitation Homes 3, Essex Property Trust 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionESSALXINVHLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $16.81B $1.27B $15.80B ESS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 40.6x 7.5x 23.3x ALX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 50.2x 29.4x 27.9x INVH
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.7% -1.5% +7.2% INVH
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 21.5% 79.1% — ALX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.3x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 3.95% 7.26% 4.48% ALX
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +2.1% +7.4% -5.1% ALX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -5.1%/yr -2.3%/yr -8.3%/yr ALX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 20.6% 27.8% 21.4% ESS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 46/100 35/100 64/100 INVH

Percentile Scorecard

ESSALXINVH

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

AxisESSALXINVH
Valuation 15 #123 of 145 31 #101 of 145 56 #65 of 145
Growth 35 #93 of 142 33 #95 of 142 71 #42 of 142
Profitability 93 #10 of 135 46 #73 of 135 85 #21 of 135
Financial Health 50 #69 of 136 10 #123 of 136 –
Shareholder Returns 39 #80 of 131 56 #58 of 131 45 #73 of 131
Overall 46 35 64
  • ESS ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • ALX ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • INVH ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodESSALXINVHSPY
1 month -4.2%-0.4%+0.8% +0.9%
3 months -11.9%-6.4%-11.2% +5.9%
6 months -1.3%-0.8%-4.7% +8.5%
Year to date -0.1%+13.8%-3.7% +13.3%
1 year +2.1%+7.4%-5.1% +12.4%
3 years +26.6%+38.4%-7.1% +88.1%
3 years, per year +8.2%+11.4%-2.4% +23.5%
5 years -23.1%-11.0%-35.1% +68.2%
5 years, per year -5.1%-2.3%-8.3% +11.0%
10 years +25.0%-35.6%— +263.4%
10 years, per year +2.3%-4.3%— +13.8%

Risk

MeasureESSALXINVHSPY
Volatility, 1Y 20.6%27.8%21.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 22.7%30.2%21.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.110.230.07 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.100.27-0.24 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -45.4%-44.2%-46.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -12.3%-13.4%-12.5% -0.9%
52-week high $298.33$286.59$30.59 $779.14
52-week low $239.61$205.15$24.39 $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.

MultipleESSALXINVH
P/E now vs peer median 40.6xmedian 25.8x 7.5xmedian 25.8x 23.3xmedian 25.8x
P/S now vs peer median 8.7xmedian 4.0x 5.9xmedian 4.0x 5.5xmedian 4.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 18.7xmedian 14.2x —median 14.2x —median 14.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median 28.9xmedian 23.0x 87.2xmedian 23.0x 30.0xmedian 23.0x
P/B now vs peer median 3.1xmedian 1.3x 5.7xmedian 1.3x 1.8xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median -5.06median 1.91 0.42median 1.91 1.80median 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 monthsESSALXINVH
Revenue $1.93B $214.80M $2.90B
Operating income $627.10M – –
Net income $437.61M $169.82M –
Free cash flow $580.66M $14.53M –
EPS (diluted) $6.44 $33.05 $1.15
Cash & equivalents $58.33M $303.31M $78.93M
Total debt $26.96B $3.48B –
Shares (diluted) 64.28M 5.14M 592.50M
Enterprise value $16.73B $473.10M $15.84B

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
MetricESSALXINVH
P/E 40.6x 7.5x 23.3x
P/FCF 28.9x 87.2x 30.0x
P/Operating cash flow 15.0x 46.6x –
P/S 8.7x 5.9x 5.5x
P/B 3.1x 5.7x 1.8x
P/Tangible book 3.1x 5.7x 1.8x
EV/EBITDA 18.7x – –
EV/EBIT 37.4x – –
EV/Revenue 12.2x 8.4x 5.5x
EV/FCF 40.4x 123.8x –
EV/Operating cash flow 21.0x 66.2x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -5.06 0.42 1.80

Growth

14 metrics
MetricESSALXINVH
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.7% -1.5% 7.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.2% 0.2% 6.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) -35.4% – –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -2.6% – –
Net income growth (1Y) -49.8% 354.2% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) -7.9% 17.9% –
EPS growth (1Y) -48.2% 354.0% 20.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -8.0% 17.8% 12.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 8.3% -68.1% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.4% -28.8% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 344.6% -74.4% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -3.3% -38.2% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricESSALXINVH
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 64.9% – –
Operating margin 32.5% – –
Pretax margin 18.9% – –
Net margin 21.5% 79.1% –
FCF margin 30.1% 6.8% –
Operating cash flow margin 58.0% 12.6% –
Return on equity 7.9% – 7.6%
Return on assets 3.4% – 3.7%
Return on invested capital – – –
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.1x 0.2x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.6x 0.2x –
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricESSALXINVH
Debt / assets 51.9% 69.4% –
Debt / equity 1.2x 3.7x –
Net debt / EBITDA 5.3x – –
Debt / FCF 11.5x 57.4x –
Liabilities / assets 57.5% 81.4% 52.2%
Equity / assets 42.5% 18.6% 47.8%
Interest coverage 2.4x – –
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricESSALXINVH
Dividend yield 4.0% 7.3% 4.5%
Net buyback yield 0.4% – –
Shareholder yield 4.3% 7.3% 4.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) 151.6% 54.4% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 114.2% 636.3% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 4.0% 0.0% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 4.8% 0.1% –

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.

ConsensusESSALXINVH
Forward P/E 50.2xFY2026 29.4xFY2027 27.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.21FY2026 $8.44FY2027 $0.96FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -49.9%FY2026 -31.2%FY2027 0.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +29.6% – -20.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.05BFY2026 $259.67MFY2026 $3.11BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.2%FY2026 +21.8%FY2026 +13.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -7.5% -8.1% -4.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersESSALXINVH
Held by institutions 100.0% 38.9% 100.0%
Institutions holding 630 153 622
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.7% +2.7% +9.1%
Institutions buying 348 71 338
Institutions selling 183 50 215
Buyers to sellers 1.90 1.42 1.57

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.

ESSALXINVH
ESS 1.00 0.32 0.66
ALX 0.32 1.00 0.26
INVH 0.66 0.26 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ESS, ALX and INVH?

Essex Property Trust (ESS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Essex Property Trust (ESS) $16.81B, Alexanders (ALX) $1.27B, Invitation Homes (INVH) $15.80B.

Which stock is cheaper, ESS, ALX and INVH?

Alexanders (ALX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Essex Property Trust (ESS) 40.6x, Alexanders (ALX) 7.5x, Invitation Homes (INVH) 23.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Invitation Homes (INVH) is cheapest (Essex Property Trust (ESS) 50.2x, Alexanders (ALX) 29.4x, Invitation Homes (INVH) 27.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Invitation Homes (INVH) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Essex Property Trust (ESS) +4.7%, Alexanders (ALX) -1.5%, Invitation Homes (INVH) +7.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Alexanders (ALX) has the highest net margin (Essex Property Trust (ESS) 21.5%, Alexanders (ALX) 79.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Alexanders (ALX) returned the most: Essex Property Trust (ESS) +2.1%, Alexanders (ALX) +7.4%, Invitation Homes (INVH) -5.1%. Over five years, Alexanders (ALX) compounded fastest (Essex Property Trust (ESS) -5.1%/yr, Alexanders (ALX) -2.3%/yr, Invitation Homes (INVH) -8.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Alexanders (ALX) has the highest dividend yield: Essex Property Trust (ESS) 3.95%, Alexanders (ALX) 7.26%, Invitation Homes (INVH) 4.48%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Essex Property Trust (ESS) has been the steadiest (Essex Property Trust (ESS) 20.6%, Alexanders (ALX) 27.8%, Invitation Homes (INVH) 21.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ESS, ALX and INVH?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Alexanders (ALX) leads on 5. 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.