UDR vs ESS vs ELS Stock Comparison

Udr, Essex Property Trust and Equity Lifestyle Properties Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
UDR UDR, Inc.
$35.61 +5.1% 1M -1.1% 1Y
Market cap
$11.44B
P/E
22.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.72B
Div. yield
3.99%
Residential REITs Real Estate
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Udr leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Udr 6, Essex Property Trust 4, Equity Lifestyle Properties 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionUDRESSELSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.44B $17.67B $11.55B ESS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 22.3x 42.7x 29.5x UDR
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 33.9x 52.8x 28.2x ELS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +1.5% +4.7% +3.2% ESS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 30.1% 21.5% 24.8% UDR
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 7.9% — 7.8% UDR
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 4.2x 5.3x 5.2x UDR
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 3.99% 3.76% 3.59% UDR
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -1.1% +4.8% -3.9% ESS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -8.7%/yr -4.5%/yr -6.9%/yr ESS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 21.0% 20.1% 18.6% ELS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 58/100 46/100 50/100 UDR

Percentile Scorecard

UDRESSELS

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

AxisUDRESSELS
Valuation 41 #86 of 145 12 #128 of 145 10 #130 of 145
Growth 61 #55 of 141 34 #93 of 141 51 #69 of 141
Profitability 96 #7 of 134 93 #10 of 134 94 #9 of 134
Financial Health 36 #89 of 138 51 #68 of 138 39 #84 of 138
Shareholder Returns 55 #59 of 131 38 #82 of 131 55 #60 of 131
Overall 58 46 50
  • UDR ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • ESS ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • ELS ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodUDRESSELSSPY
1 month +5.1%+1.2%+0.4% -0.2%
3 months -8.7%-6.7%-9.9% +3.9%
6 months -1.7%+2.6%-5.0% +8.2%
Year to date -2.9%+5.0%-1.8% +12.9%
1 year -1.1%+4.8%-3.9% +12.3%
3 years +12.8%+33.1%-7.5% +87.4%
3 years, per year +4.1%+10.0%-2.6% +23.3%
5 years -36.7%-20.5%-30.2% +67.9%
5 years, per year -8.7%-4.5%-6.9% +10.9%
10 years +6.1%+33.5%+63.3% +261.1%
10 years, per year +0.6%+2.9%+5.0% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureUDRESSELSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 21.0%20.1%18.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 20.8%21.8%18.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.140.12-0.22 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.050.24-0.21 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -48.3%-45.4%-34.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -13.7%-7.9%-13.0% -1.2%
52-week high $41.24$298.33$68.37 $779.14
52-week low $33.28$239.61$57.64 $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.

MultipleUDRESSELS
P/E now vs peer median 22.3xmedian 26.3x 42.7xmedian 26.3x 29.5xmedian 26.3x
P/S now vs peer median 6.7xmedian 4.0x 9.2xmedian 4.0x 7.3xmedian 4.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 12.6xmedian 14.4x 19.4xmedian 14.4x 23.3xmedian 14.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 32.9xmedian 23.3x 30.4xmedian 23.3x 31.1xmedian 23.3x
P/B now vs peer median 3.9xmedian 1.3x 3.2xmedian 1.3x 6.4xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median 3.50median 1.91 -5.32median 1.91 3.30median 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 monthsUDRESSELS
Revenue $1.72B $1.93B $1.58B
Gross profit – – $1.44B
Operating income $699.68M $627.10M $412.54M
Net income $557.97M $437.61M $404.07M
Free cash flow $347.44M $580.66M $370.75M
EPS (diluted) $1.60 $6.44 $1.95
Cash & equivalents $1.19M $58.33M $24.33M
Total debt $23.13B $26.96B $3.31B
Shares (diluted) 323.29M 64.28M 200.25M
Enterprise value $12.34B $17.59B $11.48B

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
MetricUDRESSELS
P/E 22.3x 42.7x 29.5x
P/FCF 32.9x 30.4x 31.1x
P/Operating cash flow 12.9x 15.8x 19.5x
P/S 6.7x 9.2x 7.3x
P/B 3.9x 3.2x 6.4x
P/Tangible book 3.9x 3.2x 6.4x
EV/EBITDA 12.6x 19.4x 23.3x
EV/EBIT 24.7x 38.8x 35.9x
EV/Revenue 10.1x 12.6x 9.4x
EV/FCF 49.7x 41.9x 40.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.4x 21.7x 25.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.50 -5.32 3.30

Growth

14 metrics
MetricUDRESSELS
Revenue growth (1Y) 1.5% 4.7% 3.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 2.5% 5.2% 2.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – 3.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – 3.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) 108.4% -35.4% 4.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 4.4% -2.6% 16.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 296.1% -49.8% 1.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 5.5% -7.9% 9.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 317.5% -48.2% 2.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 6.4% -8.0% 8.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 1.1% 8.3% 2.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 2.2% 5.4% 6.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -38.3% 344.6% 11.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -1.9% -3.3% 22.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricUDRESSELS
Gross margin – – 91.0%
EBITDA margin 79.8% 64.9% 40.3%
Operating margin 40.8% 32.5% 26.1%
Pretax margin 32.6% 18.9% 18.3%
Net margin 30.1% 21.5% 24.8%
FCF margin 20.2% 30.1% 23.5%
Operating cash flow margin 51.7% 58.0% 37.6%
Return on equity 17.9% 7.9% 22.3%
Return on assets 5.4% 3.4% 7.0%
Return on invested capital 7.9% – 7.8%
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.1x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 2.6x 1.5x
Stock comp / revenue 1.6% 0.6% 0.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricUDRESSELS
Debt / assets 56.6% 51.9% 57.4%
Debt / equity 2.0x 1.2x 1.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 4.2x 5.3x 5.2x
Debt / FCF 16.7x 11.5x 8.9x
Liabilities / assets 71.4% 57.5% 68.7%
Equity / assets 28.6% 42.5% 31.3%
Interest coverage 3.6x 2.4x 3.0x
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricUDRESSELS
Dividend yield 4.0% 3.8% 3.6%
Net buyback yield 3.7% 0.3% 0.0%
Shareholder yield 7.6% 4.1% 3.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) 101.7% 151.6% 101.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) 163.4% 114.2% 110.6%
Dividend growth (1Y) 0.7% 4.0% 8.7%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 3.6% 4.8% 8.7%

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.

ConsensusUDRESSELS
Forward P/E 33.9xFY2026 52.8xFY2026 28.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.05FY2026 $5.21FY2026 $2.11FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -7.1%FY2026 -49.9%FY2026 +5.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -41.9% +29.6% +9.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.77BFY2026 $2.05BFY2026 $1.52BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.0%FY2026 +9.2%FY2026 -0.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.9% -7.5% +14.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersUDRESSELS
Held by institutions 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 524 630 476
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.9% +4.7% +2.6%
Institutions buying 243 348 220
Institutions selling 207 183 190
Buyers to sellers 1.17 1.90 1.16

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.

UDRESSELS
UDR 1.00 0.84 0.54
ESS 0.84 1.00 0.52
ELS 0.54 0.52 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, UDR, ESS and ELS?

Essex Property Trust (ESS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Udr (UDR) $11.44B, Essex Property Trust (ESS) $17.67B, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) $11.55B.

Which stock is cheaper, UDR, ESS and ELS?

Udr (UDR) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Udr (UDR) 22.3x, Essex Property Trust (ESS) 42.7x, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) 29.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) is cheapest (Udr (UDR) 33.9x, Essex Property Trust (ESS) 52.8x, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) 28.2x). 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: Udr (UDR) +1.5%, Essex Property Trust (ESS) +4.7%, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) +3.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Udr (UDR) has the highest net margin (Udr (UDR) 30.1%, Essex Property Trust (ESS) 21.5%, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) 24.8%). On return on invested capital, Udr (UDR) leads (Udr (UDR) 7.9%, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) 7.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Essex Property Trust (ESS) returned the most: Udr (UDR) -1.1%, Essex Property Trust (ESS) +4.8%, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) -3.9%. Over five years, Essex Property Trust (ESS) compounded fastest (Udr (UDR) -8.7%/yr, Essex Property Trust (ESS) -4.5%/yr, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) -6.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Udr (UDR) has the highest dividend yield: Udr (UDR) 3.99%, Essex Property Trust (ESS) 3.76%, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) 3.59%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) has been the steadiest (Udr (UDR) 21.0%, Essex Property Trust (ESS) 20.1%, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) 18.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Udr (UDR) leads on 6. 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.