ESS vs. UDR: Essex Property Trust vs. UDR Stock Comparison

Company Profile

Essex Property Trust (ESS) and UDR (UDR) are both classified in the Multi-Family Residential REITs sub-industry within the broader Residential REITs industry, placing them in the closest GICS peer bucket.

Both Essex Property Trust (ESS) and UDR (UDR) are REITs — read their payout ratios and P/E alongside FFO (funds from operations) rather than at face value.

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

Trailing Returns

Calendar-Year Returns

Performance Metrics

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

Return Distribution

Risk Metrics

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Profitability

UDR (UDR) at 18.46% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Essex Property Trust (ESS) at 6.52% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for UDR.

Neither Essex Property Trust (ESS) 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.

Neither side reports a meaningful operating margin: for Essex Property Trust (ESS) 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

Growth

Both Essex Property Trust (ESS) at 6.36% 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.

EPS growth isn't a meaningful figure for either Essex Property Trust (ESS) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) or UDR (UDR) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) under our convention.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

Both Essex Property Trust (ESS) at 0.41 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.

Both Essex Property Trust (ESS) at 1.21 and UDR (UDR) at 1.51 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

Financial Strength Metrics

Dividends

Both Essex Property Trust (ESS) at 3.81% and UDR (UDR) at 4.69% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

An earnings-based payout ratio fits neither Essex Property Trust (ESS) 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

Valuation

P/E ratio is not a meaningful valuation yardstick for either Essex Property Trust (ESS) 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.

UDR (UDR) at 7.59 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Essex Property Trust (ESS) at 9.48 sits in the pricier quartile — ESS costs more per dollar of sales.

Both Essex Property Trust (ESS) at 3.30 and UDR (UDR) at 3.81 carry a premium to book value versus peers, sitting in the upper P/B ratio quartile of their industries.

Valuation Metrics