Sifting through countless of stocks in the Residential REITs industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc., Essex Property Trust or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc., Essex Property Trust and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc., Essex Property Trust and Inc.

Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. is a self-administered, self-managed real estate investment trust. As of June 30, 2026, they own or have an interest in 453 properties in 35 states and British Columbia consisting of 173,419 sites. Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. is headquartered in Chicago. Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. was incorporated in 1992 in Maryland and based in Chicago, Illinois.

Essex Property Trust, Inc., an S&P 500 company, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust. The firm acquires, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily residential properties in selected West Coast markets. Essex currently has ownership interests in 258 apartment communities comprising over 62,000 apartment homes with an additional property in active development. Essex Property Trust, Inc. was incorporated in 1971 in Maryland and is based in San Mateo, United States.

Latest Residential REITs and Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc., Essex Property Trust, Inc. Stock News

As of September 1, 2026, Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. had a $12.3 billion market capitalization, compared to the Residential REITs median of $3.8 million. Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc.’s stock is NA in 2026, NA in the previous five trading days and up 4.76% in the past year.

Currently, Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 30.5. Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.6 billion with a 25.6% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 6.4%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.048 per share for the current fiscal year. Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. currently has a 3.4% dividend yield.

Currently, Essex Property Trust, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 43.4. Essex Property Trust, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $2.0 billion with a 20.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 3.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $5.603 per share for the current fiscal year. Essex Property Trust, Inc. currently has a 3.7% dividend yield.

How We Compare Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc., Essex Property Trust and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc., Essex Property Trust and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

Learn more about A+ Investor here!

Sign Up to Receive a Free Special Report Showing How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Smarter Investment Decisions

Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc., Essex Property Trust and Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc.	ELS	F
Essex Property Trust, Inc.	ESS	F

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. has a Value Score of 14, which is Ultra Expensive. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a Value Score of 19, which is Ultra Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc., Essex Property Trust or Inc. has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc., Essex Property Trust or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.

Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc., Essex Property Trust and Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc.	ELS	A
Essex Property Trust, Inc.	ESS	B

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. has a Growth Score of 100, which is Very Strong. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a Growth Score of 73, which is Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. has a more attractive growth grade than Essex Property Trust, Inc.. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc., Essex Property Trust and Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc.	ELS	C
Essex Property Trust, Inc.	ESS	C

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 46, which is Average. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 44, which is Average.

The Momentum Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc., Essex Property Trust or Inc. has a strong enough Momentum Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc., Essex Property Trust or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to momentum.

Other Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc., Essex Property Trust and Inc. Grades

In addition to Momentum, Value and Growth, A+ Investor also provides grades for Estimate Revisions and Quality.

Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and F-Score.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc., Essex Property Trust and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc., Essex Property Trust or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 14, Growth Score of 100 and Momentum Score of 46.

Essex Property Trust, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 19, Growth Score of 73 and Momentum Score of 44.

Comparing Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc., Essex Property Trust and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.