ELS vs. UDR: Equity LifeStyle Properties vs. UDR Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) and UDR (UDR) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) and UDR (UDR) both belong to the Residential REITs industry, though ELS is classified under Single-Family Residential REITs while UDR falls under Multi-Family Residential REITs.

Both Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) and UDR (UDR) are REITs — read their payout ratios and P/E alongside FFO (funds from operations) rather than at face value.

Company profile comparison for Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) and UDR (UDR)
Profile Item	ELS	UDR
Name	Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc.	UDR Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Real Estate	Real Estate
GICS Industry Group	Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)	Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)
GICS Industry	Residential REITs	Residential REITs
GICS Sub-Industry	Single-Family Residential REITs	Multi-Family Residential REITs
Market Capitalization	12.67 billion USD	13.28 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	February 25, 1993	March 17, 1980
Security Type	REIT	REIT

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

ELS

UDR

GSPC

Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) vs. UDR (UDR), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) and UDR (UDR). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) and UDR (UDR). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) and UDR (UDR)
Metric	ELS	UDR
Total Return (1Y)	4.40%	11.48%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	1.94%	9.39%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-3.06%	-4.00%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

ELS

UDR

GSPC

Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) vs. UDR (UDR), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) and UDR (UDR). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) and UDR (UDR)
Metric	ELS	UDR
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	19.05%	20.46%
Beta (5Y)	0.57	0.69
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-32.51%	-44.44%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.77M	3.95M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

ELS and UDR are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) and UDR (UDR)
Metric	ELS	UDR
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.01	0.35
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.01	0.53

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) at 22.34% and UDR (UDR) at 18.46% sit in the top peer quartile for ROE, suggesting each generates more profit from shareholders’ equity than typical industry peers.

ELS

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

22.34%

Max: 22.74%
ELS: 22.34%
Q3: 10.54%
Median: 6.38%
Q1: 1.69%
Min: -10.86%

UDR

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

18.46%

Max: 22.74%
UDR: 18.46%
Q3: 10.54%
Median: 6.38%
Q1: 1.69%
Min: -10.86%

Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) vs. UDR (UDR): A comparison of their ROE against the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Neither Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) nor UDR (UDR) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) is well served by net margin: heavy depreciation makes net income a poor profitability proxy in their businesses, where FFO-based measures are the standard read.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Neither side reports a meaningful operating margin: for Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and UDR (UDR) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), funding costs are part of the core business, so net margin and ROE are the cleaner profitability reads.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) and UDR (UDR)
Metric	ELS	UDR
ROE (TTM)	22.34%	18.46%
ROA (TTM)	6.06%	2.19%
Net Margin (TTM)	--	--
Operating Margin (TTM)	--	--
Gross Margin (TTM)	--	--

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) at 1.18% and UDR (UDR) at 2.42% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) vs. UDR (UDR): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

EPS growth isn't a meaningful figure for either Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) or UDR (UDR) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) under our convention.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) and UDR (UDR)
Metric	ELS	UDR
Revenue Growth (YoY)	1.18%	2.42%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	1.79%	4.11%
EPS Growth (YoY)	--	--
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	--

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) at 0.12 and UDR (UDR) at 0.12 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

ELS

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

0.12

Max: 4.19
Q3: 2.11
Median: 1.31
Q1: 0.62
ELS: 0.12
Min: 0.06

UDR

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

0.12

Max: 4.19
Q3: 2.11
Median: 1.31
Q1: 0.62
UDR: 0.12
Min: 0.06

Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) vs. UDR (UDR): A comparison of their current ratio against the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

UDR (UDR) at 1.51 carries an industry-typical debt-to-equity mix, while Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) at 1.83 uses more debt funding than most peers.

ELS

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

1.83

Max: 2.72
ELS: 1.83
Q3: 1.59
Median: 0.99
Q1: 0.72
Min: 0.20

UDR

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

1.51

Max: 2.72
Q3: 1.59
UDR: 1.51
Median: 0.99
Q1: 0.72
Min: 0.20

Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) vs. UDR (UDR): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) and UDR (UDR)
Metric	ELS	UDR
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.12	0.12
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	1.83	1.51
Net Debt / EBITDA	4.23	5.80

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) at 3.40% and UDR (UDR) at 4.69% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

ELS

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

3.40%

Max: 8.62%
Q3: 5.95%
Median: 4.34%
ELS: 3.40%
Q1: 3.26%
Min: 0.00%

UDR

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

4.69%

Max: 8.62%
Q3: 5.95%
UDR: 4.69%
Median: 4.34%
Q1: 3.26%
Min: 0.00%

Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) vs. UDR (UDR): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

An earnings-based payout ratio fits neither Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) nor UDR (UDR) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs): their distributions are mandated and conventionally measured against FFO, so the accounting-earnings ratio overstates both.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) and UDR (UDR)
Metric	ELS	UDR
Dividend Yield (TTM)	3.40%	4.69%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	--	--

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

P/E ratio is not a meaningful valuation yardstick for either Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) or UDR (UDR) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs): depreciation suppresses reported earnings in their businesses, and price-to-FFO is the conventional yardstick instead.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

On P/S ratio, both Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) at 7.96 and UDR (UDR) at 7.59 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

ELS

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

7.96

Max: 14.47
Q3: 8.02
ELS: 7.96
Median: 5.98
Q1: 3.27
Min: 0.43

UDR

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

7.59

Max: 14.47
Q3: 8.02
UDR: 7.59
Median: 5.98
Q1: 3.27
Min: 0.43

Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) vs. UDR (UDR): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Both look rich against book: UDR (UDR) at 3.81 sits in the upper P/B ratio quartile, and Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) at 6.99 prices even higher, above its industry range.

ELS

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

6.99

ELS: 6.99
Max: 4.06
Q3: 2.53
Median: 1.64
Q1: 1.06
Min: 0.21

UDR

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

3.81

Max: 4.06
UDR: 3.81
Q3: 2.53
Median: 1.64
Q1: 1.06
Min: 0.21

Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) vs. UDR (UDR): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) and UDR (UDR)
Metric	ELS	UDR
P/E Ratio (TTM)	--	--
P/S Ratio (TTM)	7.96	7.59
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	6.99	3.81
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	--	--