IRT vs SUI vs ESS Stock Comparison

Independence Realty Trust, Sun Communities and Essex Property Trust Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
SUI Sun Communities Inc
$110.19 -1.9% 1M -10.0% 1Y
Market cap
$13.40B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$2.41B
Div. yield
0.04%
Residential REITs Real Estate
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Essex Property Trust leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Essex Property Trust 7, Sun Communities 2, Independence Realty Trust 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionIRTSUIESSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.45B $13.40B $16.88B ESS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 79.3x -17.7x 40.8x ESS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 103.3x — 50.2x ESS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +3.5% +18.4% +4.7% SUI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.5% -31.4% 21.5% ESS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 3.5% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 1.4x 5.3x SUI
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.05% 0.04% 0.04% IRT
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -8.4% -10.0% +2.1% ESS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -9.4%/yr -10.9%/yr -5.1%/yr ESS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 21.9% 21.0% 20.6% ESS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 52/100 49/100 46/100 IRT

Percentile Scorecard

IRTSUIESS

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

AxisIRTSUIESS
Valuation 49 #74 of 145 38 #90 of 145 15 #123 of 145
Growth 55 #64 of 142 34 #94 of 142 35 #93 of 142
Profitability 52 #66 of 135 36 #87 of 135 93 #10 of 135
Financial Health 74 #36 of 136 89 #16 of 136 50 #69 of 136
Shareholder Returns 29 #93 of 131 48 #69 of 131 39 #80 of 131
Overall 52 49 46
  • IRT ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • SUI ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • ESS ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodIRTSUIESSSPY
1 month -1.6%-1.9%-4.2% +0.9%
3 months -14.4%-13.8%-11.9% +5.9%
6 months -11.2%-12.9%-1.3% +8.5%
Year to date -17.3%-11.1%-0.1% +13.3%
1 year -8.4%-10.0%+2.1% +12.4%
3 years +18.5%+2.0%+26.6% +88.1%
3 years, per year +5.8%+0.7%+8.2% +23.5%
5 years -38.8%-43.8%-23.1% +68.2%
5 years, per year -9.4%-10.9%-5.1% +11.0%
10 years +72.3%+45.4%+25.0% +263.4%
10 years, per year +5.6%+3.8%+2.3% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureIRTSUIESSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 21.9%21.0%20.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 23.7%21.2%22.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.16-0.070.11 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.38-0.470.10 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -57.1%-51.1%-45.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -18.6%-19.7%-12.3% -0.9%
52-week high $17.77$137.18$298.33 $779.14
52-week low $14.46$110.01$239.61 $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.

MultipleIRTSUIESS
P/E now vs peer median 78.3xmedian 25.8x -17.6xmedian 25.8x 40.6xmedian 25.8x
P/S now vs peer median 5.1xmedian 4.0x 5.5xmedian 4.0x 8.7xmedian 4.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 14.2x 17.9xmedian 14.2x 18.7xmedian 14.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median -933.4xmedian 23.0x 33.5xmedian 23.0x 28.9xmedian 23.0x
P/B now vs peer median 1.0xmedian 1.3x 2.5xmedian 1.3x 3.1xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median -4.99median 1.91 0.22median 1.91 -5.06median 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 monthsIRTSUIESS
Revenue $666.83M $2.41B $1.93B
Gross profit – $2.13B –
Operating income – $256.50M $627.10M
Net income $44.30M -$772.80M $437.61M
Free cash flow -$3.65M $395.00M $580.66M
EPS (diluted) $0.18 $-6.13 $6.44
Cash & equivalents $46.70M $699.30M $58.33M
Total debt $2.44B $1.79B $26.96B
Shares (diluted) 236.04M 123.20M 64.28M
Enterprise value $3.26B $11.44B $16.64B

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
MetricIRTSUIESS
P/E 78.3x -17.6x 40.6x
P/FCF -933.4x 33.5x 28.9x
P/Operating cash flow 12.4x 15.4x 15.0x
P/S 5.1x 5.5x 8.7x
P/B 1.0x 2.5x 3.1x
P/Tangible book 1.0x 2.5x 3.1x
EV/EBITDA – 17.9x 18.7x
EV/EBIT – 55.8x 37.4x
EV/Revenue 8.7x 5.9x 12.2x
EV/FCF -1,590x 36.2x 40.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 21.1x 16.7x 21.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -4.99 0.22 -5.06

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIRTSUIESS
Revenue growth (1Y) 3.5% 18.4% 4.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 0.9% -8.7% 5.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 15.2% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – -5.7% –
Operating income growth (1Y) – 311.6% -35.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 8.0% -2.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 57.0% -172.3% -49.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -14.6% -85.6% -7.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 55.3% -175.0% -48.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -15.7% -81.0% -8.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 0.2% 5.1% 8.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 1.3% 6.1% 5.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 98.0% -6.1% 344.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 71.2% 46.9% -3.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIRTSUIESS
Gross margin – 88.3% –
EBITDA margin – 33.2% 64.9%
Operating margin – 10.6% 32.5%
Pretax margin – 3.9% 18.9%
Net margin 6.5% -31.4% 21.5%
FCF margin -0.5% 16.4% 30.1%
Operating cash flow margin 41.4% 35.5% 58.0%
Return on equity 1.3% -14.2% 7.9%
Return on assets 0.7% -7.5% 3.4%
Return on invested capital – 3.5% –
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.1x 0.2x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 6.2x -1.1x 2.6x
Stock comp / revenue 1.2% – 0.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIRTSUIESS
Debt / assets 40.1% 18.2% 51.9%
Debt / equity 0.7x 0.3x 1.2x
Net debt / EBITDA – 1.4x 5.3x
Debt / FCF -669.1x 4.5x 11.5x
Liabilities / assets 42.8% 46.1% 57.5%
Equity / assets 57.2% 53.9% 42.5%
Interest coverage – 1.6x 2.4x
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIRTSUIESS
Dividend yield 4.8% 4.0% 4.0%
Net buyback yield -2.4% 4.2% 0.4%
Shareholder yield 2.4% 8.2% 4.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) 363.2% -71.7% 151.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) -4,405% 140.3% 114.2%
Dividend growth (1Y) 10.2% -46.4% 4.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 8.7% – 4.8%

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.

ConsensusIRTSUIESS
Forward P/E 103.3xFY2026 – 50.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.14FY2026 $-5.88FY2026 $5.21FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -41.7%FY2026 -154.2%FY2026 -49.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +50.0% – +29.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $637.39MFY2026 $2.04BFY2026 $2.05BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -2.9%FY2026 -11.5%FY2026 +9.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +20.7% -4.9% -7.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIRTSUIESS
Held by institutions 98.8% 100.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 395 530 630
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.0% +6.1% +4.7%
Institutions buying 189 258 348
Institutions selling 140 197 183
Buyers to sellers 1.35 1.31 1.90

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.

IRTSUIESS
IRT 1.00 0.56 0.70
SUI 0.56 1.00 0.53
ESS 0.70 0.53 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IRT, SUI and ESS?

Essex Property Trust (ESS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Independence Realty Trust (IRT) $3.45B, Sun Communities (SUI) $13.40B, Essex Property Trust (ESS) $16.88B.

Which stock is cheaper, IRT, SUI and ESS?

Essex Property Trust (ESS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Independence Realty Trust (IRT) 79.3x, Sun Communities (SUI) -17.7x, Essex Property Trust (ESS) 40.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Essex Property Trust (ESS) is cheapest (Independence Realty Trust (IRT) 103.3x, Essex Property Trust (ESS) 50.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Sun Communities (SUI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Independence Realty Trust (IRT) +3.5%, Sun Communities (SUI) +18.4%, Essex Property Trust (ESS) +4.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Essex Property Trust (ESS) has the highest net margin (Independence Realty Trust (IRT) 6.5%, Sun Communities (SUI) -31.4%, Essex Property Trust (ESS) 21.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Essex Property Trust (ESS) returned the most: Independence Realty Trust (IRT) -8.4%, Sun Communities (SUI) -10.0%, Essex Property Trust (ESS) +2.1%. Over five years, Essex Property Trust (ESS) compounded fastest (Independence Realty Trust (IRT) -9.4%/yr, Sun Communities (SUI) -10.9%/yr, Essex Property Trust (ESS) -5.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Independence Realty Trust (IRT) has the highest dividend yield: Independence Realty Trust (IRT) 0.05%, Sun Communities (SUI) 0.04%, Essex Property Trust (ESS) 0.04%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Essex Property Trust (ESS) has been the steadiest (Independence Realty Trust (IRT) 21.9%, Sun Communities (SUI) 21.0%, Essex Property Trust (ESS) 20.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 7. 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.