ESS vs CPT vs MAA Stock Comparison

Essex Property Trust, Camden Property Trust and Mid America Apartment Communities Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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CPT Camden Property Trust
$100.98 +2.5% 1M +3.5% 1Y
Market cap
$10.37B
P/E
31.8x
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.

QuestionESSCPTMAALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $17.04B $10.37B $13.71B ESS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 41.2x 31.8x 35.7x CPT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 50.9x 98.0x 33.1x MAA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.7% +56.8% +1.0% CPT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 21.5% 2,486.2% 17.3% CPT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — 5.3% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.3x — 4.6x MAA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.04% 0.00% 0.05% MAA
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +7.4% +3.5% -6.4% ESS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -4.8%/yr -9.1%/yr -10.4%/yr ESS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 20.3% 19.7% 19.5% MAA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 46/100 50/100 50/100 CPT

Percentile Scorecard

ESSCPTMAA

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

AxisESSCPTMAA
Valuation 15 #123 of 145 12 #128 of 145 46 #79 of 145
Growth 33 #96 of 143 71 #42 of 143 15 #122 of 143
Profitability 93 #11 of 136 47 #72 of 136 85 #21 of 136
Financial Health 47 #74 of 138 33 #93 of 138 56 #62 of 138
Shareholder Returns 40 #79 of 131 88 #17 of 131 47 #70 of 131
Overall 46 50 50
  • ESS ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • CPT ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • MAA ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodESSCPTMAASPY
1 month -3.2%+2.5%-0.2% +0.7%
3 months -5.7%-10.9%-11.3% +3.7%
6 months +0.8%-3.8%-8.5% +7.1%
Year to date +1.4%-8.3%-14.9% +12.8%
1 year +7.4%+3.5%-6.4% +11.9%
3 years +26.3%+20.3%+0.6% +85.2%
3 years, per year +8.1%+6.4%+0.2% +22.8%
5 years -21.9%-38.1%-42.1% +67.6%
5 years, per year -4.8%-9.1%-10.4% +10.9%
10 years +26.8%+27.2%+30.8% +262.0%
10 years, per year +2.4%+2.4%+2.7% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureESSCPTMAASPY
Volatility, 1Y 20.3%19.7%19.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 22.2%19.7%18.7% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.110.080.04 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.360.18-0.33 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -45.4%-53.0%-50.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.1%-14.1%-16.9% -1.2%
52-week high $298.33$117.53$142.19 $779.14
52-week low $239.61$95.82$114.20 $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.

MultipleESSCPTMAA
P/E now vs peer median 41.2xmedian 25.7x 31.7xmedian 25.7x 35.7xmedian 25.7x
P/S now vs peer median 8.9xmedian 4.1x 773.8xmedian 4.1x 6.2xmedian 4.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 18.9xmedian 14.3x —median 14.3x 15.4xmedian 14.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 29.4xmedian 23.5x -48.0xmedian 23.5x 25.6xmedian 23.5x
P/B now vs peer median 3.1xmedian 1.3x 2.6xmedian 1.3x 2.5xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median -5.13median 1.86 1.70median 1.86 -2.79median 1.86

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 monthsESSCPTMAA
Revenue $1.93B $13.12M $2.22B
Operating income $627.10M – –
Net income $437.61M $336.62M $394.48M
Free cash flow $580.66M -$211.62M $534.81M
EPS (diluted) $6.44 $3.19 $3.31
Cash & equivalents $58.33M $44.72M $25.69M
Total debt $26.96B $4.85B $5.84B
Shares (diluted) 64.28M 102.36M 115.95M
Enterprise value $16.81B $10.23B $13.50B

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
MetricESSCPTMAA
P/E 41.2x 31.7x 35.7x
P/FCF 29.4x -48.0x 25.6x
P/Operating cash flow 15.3x 12.6x 13.7x
P/S 8.9x 773.8x 6.2x
P/B 3.1x 2.6x 2.5x
P/Tangible book 3.1x 2.6x 2.5x
EV/EBITDA 18.9x – 15.4x
EV/EBIT 37.8x – 32.0x
EV/Revenue 12.3x 1,140x 8.8x
EV/FCF 40.8x -70.7x 36.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 21.2x 18.5x 19.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -5.13 1.70 -2.79

Growth

14 metrics
MetricESSCPTMAA
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.7% 56.8% 1.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.2% 66.5% 1.4%
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% 108.1% -30.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -7.9% 16.0% -13.1%
EPS growth (1Y) -48.2% 123.5% -29.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -8.0% 18.7% -12.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 8.3% 1.8% -5.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.4% 1.1% -3.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 344.6% -377.3% 8.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -3.3% -36.7% -10.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricESSCPTMAA
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 64.9% – 57.0%
Operating margin 32.5% – –
Pretax margin 18.9% – 18.1%
Net margin 21.5% 2,486% 17.3%
FCF margin 30.1% -1,613% 24.0%
Operating cash flow margin 58.0% 6,154% 45.0%
Return on equity 7.9% 8.4% 7.2%
Return on assets 3.4% 3.6% 3.3%
Return on invested capital – – 5.3%
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.1x 0.0x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.6x 2.4x 2.5x
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% 128.3% 0.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricESSCPTMAA
Debt / assets 51.9% 51.3% 48.5%
Debt / equity 1.2x 1.3x 1.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.3x – 4.6x
Debt / FCF 11.5x -22.9x 10.9x
Liabilities / assets 57.5% 59.0% 54.9%
Equity / assets 42.5% 41.0% 45.1%
Interest coverage 2.4x – 2.9x
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricESSCPTMAA
Dividend yield 3.9% 4.2% 5.2%
Net buyback yield 0.4% 6.7% 1.1%
Shareholder yield 4.3% 10.9% 6.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) 151.6% – 180.4%
Payout ratio (FCF) 114.2% – 133.1%
Dividend growth (1Y) 4.0% – 1.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 4.8% – 4.0%

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.

ConsensusESSCPTMAA
Forward P/E 50.9xFY2026 98.0xFY2026 33.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.21FY2026 $1.03FY2026 $3.57FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -49.9%FY2026 -70.9%FY2026 -5.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +29.6% -8.7% -9.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.05BFY2026 $1.60BFY2026 $2.29BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.2%FY2026 +2.1%FY2026 +3.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -7.5% -8.2% +1.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersESSCPTMAA
Held by institutions 100.0% 100.0% 97.1%
Institutions holding 631 576 772
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.7% -0.4% +8.2%
Institutions buying 348 267 396
Institutions selling 184 213 262
Buyers to sellers 1.89 1.25 1.51

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.

ESSCPTMAA
ESS 1.00 0.81 0.79
CPT 0.81 1.00 0.92
MAA 0.79 0.92 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ESS, CPT and MAA?

Essex Property Trust (ESS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Essex Property Trust (ESS) $17.04B, Camden Property Trust (CPT) $10.37B, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) $13.71B.

Which stock is cheaper, ESS, CPT and MAA?

Camden Property Trust (CPT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Essex Property Trust (ESS) 41.2x, Camden Property Trust (CPT) 31.8x, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) 35.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) is cheapest (Essex Property Trust (ESS) 50.9x, Camden Property Trust (CPT) 98.0x, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) 33.1x). 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: Essex Property Trust (ESS) +4.7%, Camden Property Trust (CPT) +56.8%, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) +1.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Camden Property Trust (CPT) has the highest net margin (Essex Property Trust (ESS) 21.5%, Camden Property Trust (CPT) 2,486.2%, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) 17.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Essex Property Trust (ESS) returned the most: Essex Property Trust (ESS) +7.4%, Camden Property Trust (CPT) +3.5%, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) -6.4%. Over five years, Essex Property Trust (ESS) compounded fastest (Essex Property Trust (ESS) -4.8%/yr, Camden Property Trust (CPT) -9.1%/yr, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) -10.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) has the highest dividend yield: Essex Property Trust (ESS) 0.04%, Camden Property Trust (CPT) 0.00%, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) 0.05%. 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 (Essex Property Trust (ESS) 20.3%, Camden Property Trust (CPT) 19.7%, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) 19.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.