ESS vs ELS vs CPT Stock Comparison

Essex Property Trust, Equity Lifestyle Properties and Camden Property Trust Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CPT Camden Property Trust
$102.02 +4.5% 1M -2.8% 1Y
Market cap
$10.44B
P/E
32.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$13.12M
Div. yield
–
Residential REITs Real Estate
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionESSELSCPTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $17.70B $11.82B $10.44B ESS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 42.8x 29.4x 32.0x ELS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 53.3x 28.7x 85.7x ELS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.7% +2.5% +56.8% CPT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 21.5% 25.7% 2,486.2% CPT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.3x 5.2x — ELS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.04% 0.03% 0.00% ESS
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +5.6% -0.2% -2.8% ESS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.7%/yr -6.7%/yr -8.5%/yr ESS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 20.1% 18.5% 20.1% ELS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 46/100 50/100 51/100 CPT

Percentile Scorecard

ESSELSCPT

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

AxisESSELSCPT
Valuation 13 #127 of 145 11 #129 of 145 13 #126 of 145
Growth 36 #92 of 144 57 #63 of 144 73 #39 of 144
Profitability 93 #11 of 140 91 #13 of 140 46 #76 of 140
Financial Health 50 #74 of 146 38 #91 of 146 34 #97 of 146
Shareholder Returns 38 #82 of 132 54 #61 of 132 88 #17 of 132
Overall 46 50 51
  • ESS ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • ELS ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • CPT ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodESSELSCPTSPY
1 month +1.8%+2.0%+4.5% -1.0%
3 months -5.1%-7.9%-10.3% +2.9%
6 months +9.0%-3.9%+0.3% +6.4%
Year to date +6.4%+0.4%-7.3% +11.4%
1 year +5.6%-0.2%-2.8% +13.1%
3 years +29.7%-6.5%+8.9% +79.4%
3 years, per year +9.1%-2.2%+2.9% +21.5%
5 years -17.0%-29.3%-35.9% +67.7%
5 years, per year -3.7%-6.7%-8.5% +10.9%
10 years +34.7%+62.8%+29.5% +255.2%
10 years, per year +3.0%+5.0%+2.6% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureESSELSCPTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 20.1%18.5%20.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 21.8%17.8%20.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.12-0.200.08 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.28-0.01-0.14 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -45.4%-34.2%-53.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -6.7%-11.0%-13.2% -2.5%
52-week high $298.33$68.37$117.53 $779.14
52-week low $239.61$57.64$95.82 $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.

MultipleESSELSCPT
P/E now vs peer median 43.2xmedian 27.0x 29.3xmedian 27.0x 32.0xmedian 27.0x
P/S now vs peer median 9.3xmedian 4.1x 7.6xmedian 4.1x 781.7xmedian 4.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 19.6xmedian 14.5x 23.9xmedian 14.5x —median 14.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 30.8xmedian 23.7x 34.2xmedian 23.7x -48.5xmedian 23.7x
P/B now vs peer median 3.3xmedian 1.3x 6.5xmedian 1.3x 2.6xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median -5.39median 2.07 2.63median 2.07 1.71median 2.07

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 monthsESSELSCPT
Revenue $1.93B $1.56B $13.12M
Gross profit – $1.42B –
Operating income $627.10M $409.36M –
Net income $437.61M $415.18M $336.62M
Free cash flow $580.66M $345.41M -$211.62M
EPS (diluted) $6.44 $2.01 $3.19
Cash & equivalents $58.33M $35.63M $44.72M
Total debt $26.96B $13.20B $16.74B
Shares (diluted) 64.28M 200.21M 102.36M
Enterprise value $17.46B $11.68B $10.31B

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
MetricESSELSCPT
P/E 43.2x 29.3x 32.0x
P/FCF 30.8x 34.2x -48.5x
P/Operating cash flow 16.0x 20.0x 12.7x
P/S 9.3x 7.6x 781.7x
P/B 3.3x 6.5x 2.6x
P/Tangible book 3.3x 6.5x 2.6x
EV/EBITDA 19.6x 23.9x –
EV/EBIT 39.1x 36.8x –
EV/Revenue 12.7x 9.6x 1,148x
EV/FCF 42.3x 43.7x -71.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 21.9x 25.6x 18.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -5.39 2.63 1.71

Growth

14 metrics
MetricESSELSCPT
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.7% 2.5% 56.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.2% 2.3% 66.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 3.2% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 3.9% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -35.4% 8.3% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -2.6% 28.2% –
Net income growth (1Y) -49.8% 7.8% 108.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -7.9% 11.5% 16.0%
EPS growth (1Y) -48.2% 9.2% 123.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -8.0% 11.2% 18.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 8.3% 1.6% 1.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.4% 10.3% 1.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 344.6% -1.2% -377.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -3.3% 24.8% -36.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricESSELSCPT
Gross margin – 91.0% –
EBITDA margin 64.9% 40.4% –
Operating margin 32.5% 26.2% –
Pretax margin 18.9% 18.3% –
Net margin 21.5% 25.7% 2,486%
FCF margin 30.1% 22.1% -1,613%
Operating cash flow margin 58.0% 37.7% 6,154%
Return on equity 7.9% 22.8% 8.4%
Return on assets 3.4% 7.2% 3.6%
Return on invested capital – – –
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.1x 0.3x 0.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.6x 1.4x 2.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% 0.4% 128.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricESSELSCPT
Debt / assets 51.9% 57.1% 51.3%
Debt / equity 1.2x 1.8x 1.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.3x 5.2x –
Debt / FCF 11.5x 9.6x -22.9x
Liabilities / assets 57.5% 68.7% 59.0%
Equity / assets 42.5% 31.3% 41.0%
Interest coverage 2.4x 3.0x –
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricESSELSCPT
Dividend yield 3.7% 3.5% 4.1%
Net buyback yield 0.3% 0.0% 6.6%
Shareholder yield 4.1% 3.5% 10.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) 151.6% 97.1% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 114.2% 116.8% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 4.0% 9.7% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 4.8% 8.9% –

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.

ConsensusESSELSCPT
Forward P/E 53.3xFY2026 28.7xFY2026 85.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.22FY2026 $2.12FY2026 $1.19FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -49.8%FY2026 +5.5%FY2026 -66.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +29.7% +8.5% +0.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.05BFY2026 $1.52BFY2026 $1.60BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.2%FY2026 -0.6%FY2026 +2.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -7.5% +14.4% -8.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersESSELSCPT
Held by institutions 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 630 476 575
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.7% +2.6% -0.4%
Institutions buying 348 220 267
Institutions selling 183 190 213
Buyers to sellers 1.90 1.16 1.25

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.

ESSELSCPT
ESS 1.00 0.53 0.83
ELS 0.53 1.00 0.56
CPT 0.83 0.56 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ESS, ELS and CPT?

Essex Property Trust (ESS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Essex Property Trust (ESS) $17.70B, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) $11.82B, Camden Property Trust (CPT) $10.44B.

Which stock is cheaper, ESS, ELS and CPT?

Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Essex Property Trust (ESS) 42.8x, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) 29.4x, Camden Property Trust (CPT) 32.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) is cheapest (Essex Property Trust (ESS) 53.3x, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) 28.7x, Camden Property Trust (CPT) 85.7x). 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%, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) +2.5%, Camden Property Trust (CPT) +56.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Camden Property Trust (CPT) has the highest net margin (Essex Property Trust (ESS) 21.5%, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) 25.7%, Camden Property Trust (CPT) 2,486.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Essex Property Trust (ESS) returned the most: Essex Property Trust (ESS) +5.6%, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) -0.2%, Camden Property Trust (CPT) -2.8%. Over five years, Essex Property Trust (ESS) compounded fastest (Essex Property Trust (ESS) -3.7%/yr, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) -6.7%/yr, Camden Property Trust (CPT) -8.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Essex Property Trust (ESS) has the highest dividend yield: Essex Property Trust (ESS) 0.04%, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) 0.03%, Camden Property Trust (CPT) 0.00%. Camden Property Trust (CPT) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) has been the steadiest (Essex Property Trust (ESS) 20.1%, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) 18.5%, Camden Property Trust (CPT) 20.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 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.