ESS vs AMH vs SUI Stock Comparison

Essex Property Trust, American Homes 4 Rent and Sun Communities Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AMH American Homes 4 Rent
$32.10 +4.7% 1M -3.8% 1Y
Market cap
$11.51B
P/E
24.8x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
0.04%
Residential REITs Real Estate
5 wins
SUI Sun Communities Inc
$119.89 +6.8% 1M -3.4% 1Y
Market cap
$14.48B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Residential REITs Real Estate

Head to Head

8 decided of 12

American Homes 4 Rent leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (American Homes 4 Rent 5, Essex Property Trust 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionESSAMHSUILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $17.74B $11.51B $14.48B ESS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 42.9x 24.8x -19.1x AMH
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 52.9x 30.3x — AMH
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.7% — — –
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 21.5% — — –
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.3x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.04% 0.04% 0.00% AMH
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +4.0% -3.8% -3.4% ESS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -4.2%/yr -4.2%/yr -9.4%/yr AMH
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 20.2% 20.3% 20.2% ESS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 46/100 63/100 — AMH

Percentile Scorecard

ESSAMHSUI

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

AxisESSAMHSUI
Valuation 13 #127 of 145 52 #70 of 145 8 #133 of 145
Growth 36 #92 of 142 69 #45 of 142 –
Profitability 91 #13 of 136 63 #51 of 136 –
Financial Health 51 #68 of 139 63 #52 of 139 –
Shareholder Returns 39 #80 of 131 68 #43 of 131 18 #108 of 131
Overall 46 63 –
  • ESS ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • AMH 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

PeriodESSAMHSUISPY
1 month +1.4%+4.7%+6.8% -0.8%
3 months -5.1%-4.1%-1.3% +3.5%
6 months +7.2%+5.9%-6.1% +7.0%
Year to date +5.2%0.0%-3.2% +12.2%
1 year +4.0%-3.8%-3.4% +13.0%
3 years +33.3%+1.9%+11.0% +86.3%
3 years, per year +10.1%+0.6%+3.5% +23.1%
5 years -19.5%-19.3%-38.9% +68.6%
5 years, per year -4.2%-4.2%-9.4% +11.0%
10 years +32.7%+53.1%+53.4% +258.0%
10 years, per year +2.9%+4.4%+4.4% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureESSAMHSUISPY
Volatility, 1Y 20.2%20.3%20.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 21.9%19.5%19.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.120.02-0.06 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.20-0.19-0.17 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -45.4%-37.2%-51.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.7%-7.8%-12.6% -1.8%
52-week high $298.33$34.81$137.18 $779.14
52-week low $239.61$27.38$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.

MultipleESSAMHSUI
P/E now vs peer median 42.8xmedian 27.4x 24.9xmedian 27.4x -19.4xmedian 27.4x
P/S now vs peer median 9.2xmedian 4.2x —median 4.2x 6.2xmedian 4.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 19.5xmedian 14.2x —median 14.2x —median 14.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median 30.5xmedian 23.2x 1,111xmedian 23.2x 30.8xmedian 23.2x
P/B now vs peer median 3.2xmedian 1.3x 1.5xmedian 1.3x 2.8xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median -5.33median 2.11 2.57median 2.11 0.24median 2.11

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 monthsESSAMHSUI
Revenue $1.93B – –
Operating income $627.10M – –
Net income $437.61M $542.82M –
Free cash flow $580.66M $10.37M –
EPS (diluted) $6.44 $1.29 $-5.97
Cash & equivalents $58.33M $83.67M –
Total debt $26.96B $5.13B –
Shares (diluted) 64.28M 360.81M 127.00M
Enterprise value $17.51B $11.21B $14.48B

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
MetricESSAMHSUI
P/E 42.8x 24.9x -19.4x
P/FCF 30.5x 1,111x 30.8x
P/Operating cash flow 15.8x 13.3x –
P/S 9.2x – 6.2x
P/B 3.2x 1.5x 2.8x
P/Tangible book 3.2x 1.5x 2.8x
EV/EBITDA 19.5x – –
EV/EBIT 38.8x – –
EV/Revenue 12.6x – –
EV/FCF 41.9x 1,598x –
EV/Operating cash flow 21.8x 19.2x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -5.33 2.57 0.24

Growth

14 metrics
MetricESSAMHSUI
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.7% – –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 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) -49.8% 12.2% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) -7.9% 9.1% –
EPS growth (1Y) -48.2% 15.9% -173.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -8.0% 9.7% -79.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 8.3% 4.1% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.4% 7.2% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 344.6% 101.6% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -3.3% 26.4% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricESSAMHSUI
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 64.9% – –
Operating margin 32.5% – –
Pretax margin 18.9% – –
Net margin 21.5% – –
FCF margin 30.1% – –
Operating cash flow margin 58.0% – –
Return on equity 7.9% 7.2% -14.3%
Return on assets 3.4% 4.1% -7.5%
Return on invested capital – – –
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.1x – –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.6x 1.6x –
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricESSAMHSUI
Debt / assets 51.9% 39.1% –
Debt / equity 1.2x 0.7x –
Net debt / EBITDA 5.3x – –
Debt / FCF 11.5x 494.5x –
Liabilities / assets 57.5% 43.0% 44.2%
Equity / assets 42.5% 57.0% 53.2%
Interest coverage 2.4x – –
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricESSAMHSUI
Dividend yield 3.8% 4.0% 3.7%
Net buyback yield 0.3% 2.0% –
Shareholder yield 4.1% 6.0% 3.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) 151.6% 85.3% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 114.2% 4,462% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 4.0% 11.3% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 4.8% 17.4% –

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.

ConsensusESSAMHSUI
Forward P/E 52.9xFY2026 30.3xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $5.21FY2026 $1.06FY2026 $-5.88FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -49.9%FY2026 -10.2%FY2026 -154.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +29.6% -18.9% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.05BFY2026 $2.04BFY2026 $2.04BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.2%FY2026 +10.0%FY2026 -11.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -7.5% -0.6% -4.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersESSAMHSUI
Held by institutions 100.0% 90.7% 100.0%
Institutions holding 630 480 530
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.7% +8.2% +6.1%
Institutions buying 348 253 258
Institutions selling 183 160 197
Buyers to sellers 1.90 1.58 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.

ESSAMHSUI
ESS 1.00 0.71 0.53
AMH 0.71 1.00 0.51
SUI 0.53 0.51 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ESS, AMH and SUI?

Essex Property Trust (ESS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Essex Property Trust (ESS) $17.74B, American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) $11.51B, Sun Communities (SUI) $14.48B.

Which stock is cheaper, ESS, AMH and SUI?

American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Essex Property Trust (ESS) 42.9x, American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) 24.8x, Sun Communities (SUI) -19.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) is cheapest (Essex Property Trust (ESS) 52.9x, American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) 30.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Essex Property Trust (ESS) returned the most: Essex Property Trust (ESS) +4.0%, American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) -3.8%, Sun Communities (SUI) -3.4%. Over five years, American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) compounded fastest (Essex Property Trust (ESS) -4.2%/yr, American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) -4.2%/yr, Sun Communities (SUI) -9.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) has the highest dividend yield: Essex Property Trust (ESS) 0.04%, American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) 0.04%, Sun Communities (SUI) 0.00%. Sun Communities (SUI) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Essex Property Trust (ESS) has been the steadiest (Essex Property Trust (ESS) 20.2%, American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) 20.3%, Sun Communities (SUI) 20.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ESS, AMH 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, American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) 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.