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STOCK COMPARISON

Equity Residential vs Essex Property Trust: Fair Value & Quality

Both stocks run through our valuation models. Here is how Equity Residential (EQR) and Essex Property Trust (ESS) compare, as of Sep 5, 2026.

As of Sep 5, 2026, Fair Value Calculator sees Essex Property Trust as the less overvalued of the two: Equity Residential trades at $68.14 versus a fair value of $36.19 (-47%), while Essex Property Trust trades at $279 versus $178 (-36%).
Equity Residential
EQR · USD · Real Estate
-47%
upside to fair value
overvalued
Price$68.14
Fair Value$36.19
Quality64/100
Essex Property Trust
ESS · USD · Real Estate
-36%
upside to fair value
overvalued
Price$279
Fair Value$178
Quality63/100
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Head-to-head numbers

Green value = the better side for that row (for valuation multiples: lower = cheaper).

Equity ResidentialEssex Property Trust
Valuation
25.6×P/E (TTM)30.8×
7.96×P/S (TTM)9.60×
2.24×P/B3.40×
17.1×EV/EBITDA20.0×
8.15×PEG6.86×
−46.9%Fair value upside−36.2%
4.1%Dividend yield3.7%
$2.78Dividend per share$10.30
Profitability
27%Operating margin35%
0.71×EBIT margin trend (5Y)1.33×
9%Return on equity11%
3%Return on assets3%
Growth
3%Revenue growth (YoY)6%
4.3%Avg. growth/yr (3Y)5.8%
3.8%Avg. growth/yr (5Y)4.9%
+6.9%Value creation/yr+10.5%
Balance & size
4.7×Interest coverage (EBIT/interest)3.2×
0.69×Debt / equity1.23×
$25BMarket cap$19B
healthyGrowth qualityhealthy

Even match: 7 to 7 metric wins.

Dash = not meaningfully computable, for example with negative equity.

Quality in detail

The quality score, broken down into the same factor families as on the stock page, 0 to 100 per family.

Equity Residentialof which business quality 61 · market factors 64 Essex Property Trustof which business quality 59 · market factors 63
ProfitabilityMargins and returns on capital today
40
42
Quality GrowthAre margins and returns improving?
48
39
CashflowEarnings quality: real cash, not paper profit
84
90
Fin. StrengthBalance sheet, leverage, solvency risk
43
30
InvestmentDisciplined investing over empire-building
81
87
Low VolatilityCalm price path (market factor)
83
86
MomentumPrice trend over the last 3–12 months (market factor)
49
48
52W MomentumDistance to the 52-week high (market factor)
68
63
Net IssuanceBuybacks instead of dilution
85
82

What the models say

How far the median fair value (base case) per model family sits from the current price, in percent. The amount in the currency of the trading venue is shown underneath.

above the price, more than 15% above close to the price, 85% to 115% of the price below the price, more than 15% below

Model familyEquity ResidentialPrice $68.14Essex Property TrustPrice $279
DCF Models-51%below the price$33.62-31%below the price$193
Multiples-25%below the price$50.82-36%below the price$178
Asset-Based-71%below the price$19.74-79%below the price$57.77
Growth DCF-58%below the price$28.81-46%below the price$152
Economic Profit-57%below the price$29.00-66%below the price$95.56
Minimum-71%below the price$19.74-79%below the price$57.77
Maximum-25%below the price$50.82-31%below the price$193
Median-57%below the price$29.00-46%below the price$152
Geometric mean-55%below the price$30.90-56%below the price$124

Minimum, maximum, median and geometric mean refer to the family values in this table. Geometric because deviations are ratios: half the price and twice the price average to 100%, not 125%.

Equity Residential: 13 of 14 models see the stock below the current price.

Essex Property Trust: 12 of 14 models see the stock below the current price.

Scenario ranges

From our cautious bear case to the optimistic bull case. The white tick is the current price: left of fair value means room to run.

Equity Residential
Bear $26.26Fair Value $36.19Bull $62.55
$68.14 = current price (white tick)
Essex Property Trust
Bear $81.16Fair Value $178Bull $222
$279 = current price (white tick)

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Ranked within their sector

Where each stock sits within its sector peer group. Band = middle 50% of peers, tick = median, dot = this stock.

Equity Residential · Real Estate

Quality score64 · Top 25%
Fair value upside-47% · bottom 25%

Essex Property Trust · Real Estate

Quality score63 · Top 25%
Fair value upside-36% · below median

Bottom line

As of Sep 5, 2026, Fair Value Calculator sees Essex Property Trust as the less overvalued of the two: Equity Residential trades at $68.14 versus a fair value of $36.19 (-47%), while Essex Property Trust trades at $279 versus $178 (-36%).

Equity Residential has the higher quality score (64/100).

See the full analysis →

More comparisons

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A model-based valuation snapshot from 26 models. Values change with price and fundamentals; the date shown above applies.