ESS vs. WELL: Essex Property Trust vs. Welltower Stock Comparison

Company Profile

Essex Property Trust (ESS) and Welltower (WELL) both fall under the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group, but ESS is classified in Residential REITs while WELL is classified in Health Care REITs.

Both Essex Property Trust (ESS) and Welltower (WELL) 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

Both Essex Property Trust (ESS) at 6.52% and Welltower (WELL) at 3.92% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Neither Essex Property Trust (ESS) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) nor Welltower (WELL) 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 Welltower (WELL) 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

Welltower (WELL) at 35.82% clears its industry range for revenue growth, far stronger top-line momentum than Essex Property Trust (ESS) at 6.36%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

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

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

Welltower (WELL) at 1.66 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Essex Property Trust (ESS) at 0.41 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for ESS.

Welltower (WELL) at 0.42 keeps leverage in the lower industry quartile, while Essex Property Trust (ESS) at 1.21 runs a more typical debt-to-equity mix.

Financial Strength Metrics

Dividends

Essex Property Trust (ESS) at 3.81% pays a yield in its industry’s typical range, while Welltower (WELL) at 1.30% falls in the bottom quartile of its peers.

An earnings-based payout ratio fits neither Essex Property Trust (ESS) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) nor Welltower (WELL) 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 Welltower (WELL) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs): depreciation suppresses reported earnings in their businesses, and price-to-FFO is the conventional yardstick instead.

Both Essex Property Trust (ESS) at 9.48 and Welltower (WELL) at 13.03 command a richer price per dollar of sales than most peers, sitting in the upper P/S ratio quartile of their industries.

Both Essex Property Trust (ESS) at 3.30 and Welltower (WELL) at 3.69 carry a premium to book value versus peers, sitting in the upper P/B ratio quartile of their industries.

Valuation Metrics