ESS vs AMH vs IRT Stock Comparison

Essex Property Trust, American Homes 4 Rent and Independence Realty Trust Prices as of Nov 3, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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AMH American Homes 4 Rent
$31.53 +4.1% 1M -0.7% 1Y
Market cap
$11.79B
P/E
25.4x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
0.04%
Residential REITs Real Estate
4 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Essex Property Trust leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Essex Property Trust 5, American Homes 4 Rent 4, Independence Realty Trust 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionESSAMHIRTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $17.52B $11.79B $3.65B ESS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 50.5x 25.4x 59.1x AMH
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 50.8x 29.7x 105.9x AMH
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.5% — +3.1% ESS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 17.8% — 9.2% ESS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.5x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.04% 0.04% 0.04% IRT
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +4.1% -0.7% -7.4% ESS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -4.4%/yr -4.9%/yr -9.4%/yr ESS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 20.3% 20.1% 21.2% AMH
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 46/100 63/100 60/100 AMH

Percentile Scorecard

ESSAMHIRT

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

AxisESSAMHIRT
Valuation 18 #120 of 146 53 #69 of 146 48 #76 of 146
Growth 32 #99 of 145 63 #54 of 145 70 #44 of 145
Profitability 87 #19 of 141 66 #48 of 141 59 #58 of 141
Financial Health 51 #72 of 146 61 #57 of 146 68 #47 of 146
Shareholder Returns 42 #80 of 136 70 #42 of 136 56 #61 of 136
Overall 46 63 60
  • ESS ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • AMH ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • IRT ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodESSAMHIRTSPY
1 month -1.4%+4.1%+2.1% -2.0%
3 months -7.8%-8.7%-13.1% -2.2%
6 months -0.7%-2.3%-10.2% +4.2%
Year to date +1.2%-1.8%-15.2% +10.6%
1 year +4.1%-0.7%-7.4% +10.4%
3 years +21.9%-11.0%+8.7% +73.6%
3 years, per year +6.8%-3.8%+2.8% +20.2%
5 years -20.2%-22.1%-38.8% +61.6%
5 years, per year -4.4%-4.9%-9.4% +10.1%
10 years +21.3%+54.9%+86.6% +261.3%
10 years, per year +1.9%+4.5%+6.4% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureESSAMHIRTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 20.3%20.1%21.2% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 22.0%19.1%22.8% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.110.010.18 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.20-0.04-0.35 0.81
Max drawdown, 5Y -45.4%-37.2%-57.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.2%-9.4%-16.6% -3.2%
52-week high $298.33$34.81$17.77 $779.14
52-week low $239.61$27.38$14.46 $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.

MultipleESSAMHIRT
P/E now vs peer median 49.0xmedian 26.1x 24.5xmedian 26.1x 56.5xmedian 26.1x
P/S now vs peer median 8.8xmedian 4.1x —median 4.1x 5.2xmedian 4.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 19.7xmedian 14.4x —median 14.4x —median 14.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 25.3xmedian 21.6x 1,092xmedian 21.6x 35.4xmedian 21.6x
P/B now vs peer median 3.1xmedian 1.3x 1.5xmedian 1.3x 1.0xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median -3.78median 1.95 2.52median 1.95 50.12median 1.95

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 monthsESSAMHIRT
Revenue $1.95B – $671.80M
Operating income $573.46M – –
Net income $368.62M $542.82M $63.02M
Free cash flow $673.94M $10.37M $98.76M
EPS (diluted) $5.40 $1.29 $0.26
Cash & equivalents $72.06M $83.67M $43.31M
Total debt $6.61B $5.13B $2.40B
Shares (diluted) 64.31M 360.81M 236.11M
Enterprise value $17.28B $11.48B $3.47B

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
MetricESSAMHIRT
P/E 49.0x 24.5x 56.5x
P/FCF 25.3x 1,092x 35.4x
P/Operating cash flow 15.4x 13.1x 12.6x
P/S 8.8x – 5.2x
P/B 3.1x 1.5x 1.0x
P/Tangible book 3.1x 1.5x 1.0x
EV/EBITDA 19.7x – –
EV/EBIT 41.1x – –
EV/Revenue 12.1x – 8.7x
EV/FCF 35.0x 1,578x 59.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 21.3x 18.9x 21.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -3.78 2.52 50.12

Growth

14 metrics
MetricESSAMHIRT
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.5% – 3.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.4% – 0.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) -45.5% – –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -5.6% – –
Net income growth (1Y) -59.9% 12.2% 179.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -12.7% 9.1% 2.6%
EPS growth (1Y) -58.9% 15.9% 174.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -13.0% 9.7% 1.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 4.7% 4.1% -2.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.5% 7.2% 2.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 568.8% 101.6% 153.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 0.1% 26.4% 75.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricESSAMHIRT
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 61.6% – –
Operating margin 29.5% – –
Pretax margin 16.0% – –
Net margin 17.8% – 9.2%
FCF margin 34.6% – 14.7%
Operating cash flow margin 57.0% – 41.3%
Return on equity 6.7% 7.2% 1.8%
Return on assets 2.9% 4.1% 1.0%
Return on invested capital – – –
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.2x – 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.0x 1.6x 4.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% – 1.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricESSAMHIRT
Debt / assets 51.5% 39.1% 39.5%
Debt / equity 1.2x 0.7x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.5x – –
Debt / FCF 9.8x 494.5x 24.3x
Liabilities / assets 57.4% 43.0% 42.8%
Equity / assets 42.6% 57.0% 57.2%
Interest coverage 2.2x – –
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricESSAMHIRT
Dividend yield 3.9% 4.1% 4.7%
Net buyback yield 0.2% 2.1% 1.4%
Shareholder yield 4.1% 6.2% 6.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) 180.2% 85.3% 259.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) 98.6% 4,462% 165.6%
Dividend growth (1Y) 2.8% 11.3% 9.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 4.6% 17.4% 7.9%

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.

ConsensusESSAMHIRT
Forward P/E 50.8xFY2026 29.7xFY2026 105.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.21FY2026 $1.06FY2026 $0.14FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -49.9%FY2026 -10.2%FY2026 -41.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +29.6% -18.9% +50.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.05BFY2026 $2.04BFY2026 $637.39MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.2%FY2026 +10.0%FY2026 -2.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -7.5% -0.6% +20.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersESSAMHIRT
Held by institutions 100.0% 90.7% 98.8%
Institutions holding 632 482 397
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.7% +8.2% +2.0%
Institutions buying 348 255 189
Institutions selling 185 160 142
Buyers to sellers 1.88 1.59 1.33

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.

ESSAMHIRT
ESS 1.00 0.70 0.71
AMH 0.70 1.00 0.65
IRT 0.71 0.65 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ESS, AMH and IRT?

Essex Property Trust (ESS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Essex Property Trust (ESS) $17.52B, American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) $11.79B, Independence Realty Trust (IRT) $3.65B.

Which stock is cheaper, ESS, AMH and IRT?

American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Essex Property Trust (ESS) 50.5x, American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) 25.4x, Independence Realty Trust (IRT) 59.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) is cheapest (Essex Property Trust (ESS) 50.8x, American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) 29.7x, Independence Realty Trust (IRT) 105.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Essex Property Trust (ESS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Essex Property Trust (ESS) +4.5%, Independence Realty Trust (IRT) +3.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Essex Property Trust (ESS) has the highest net margin (Essex Property Trust (ESS) 17.8%, Independence Realty Trust (IRT) 9.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Essex Property Trust (ESS) returned the most: Essex Property Trust (ESS) +4.1%, American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) -0.7%, Independence Realty Trust (IRT) -7.4%. Over five years, Essex Property Trust (ESS) compounded fastest (Essex Property Trust (ESS) -4.4%/yr, American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) -4.9%/yr, Independence Realty Trust (IRT) -9.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Independence Realty Trust (IRT) has the highest dividend yield: Essex Property Trust (ESS) 0.04%, American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) 0.04%, Independence Realty Trust (IRT) 0.04%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) has been the steadiest (Essex Property Trust (ESS) 20.3%, American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) 20.1%, Independence Realty Trust (IRT) 21.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ESS, AMH and IRT?

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 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.