Essex Property Trust (ESS) Competitors

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) and AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, media sentiment, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings and dividends.

Is ESS or AVB a better dividend stock?

Essex Property Trust pays an annual dividend of $10.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. AvalonBay Communities pays an annual dividend of $7.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Essex Property Trust pays out 98.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. AvalonBay Communities pays out 87.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Essex Property Trust has raised its dividend for 31 consecutive years and AvalonBay Communities has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years. Essex Property Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of ESS or AVB?

96.5% of Essex Property Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.6% of AvalonBay Communities shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.5% of Essex Property Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of AvalonBay Communities shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media refer more to ESS or AVB?

In the previous week, Essex Property Trust and Essex Property Trust both had 12 articles in the media. Essex Property Trust's average media sentiment score of 1.77 beat AvalonBay Communities' score of 1.22 indicating that Essex Property Trust is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Essex Property Trust	12 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
AvalonBay Communities	9 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts prefer ESS or AVB?

Essex Property Trust currently has a consensus price target of $310.28, suggesting a potential upside of 9.18%. AvalonBay Communities has a consensus price target of $235.86, suggesting a potential upside of 15.67%. Given AvalonBay Communities' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe AvalonBay Communities is more favorable than Essex Property Trust.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Essex Property Trust	1 Sell rating(s)	10 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.37
AvalonBay Communities	0 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.47

Which has more volatility and risk, ESS or AVB?

Essex Property Trust has a beta of 0.78, indicating that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AvalonBay Communities has a beta of 0.85, indicating that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is ESS or AVB more profitable?

AvalonBay Communities has a net margin of 38.86% compared to Essex Property Trust's net margin of 37.08%. Essex Property Trust's return on equity of 11.81% beat AvalonBay Communities' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Essex Property Trust	37.08%	11.81%	5.24%
AvalonBay Communities	38.86%	9.65%	5.42%

Which has higher valuation and earnings, ESS or AVB?

AvalonBay Communities has higher revenue and earnings than Essex Property Trust. AvalonBay Communities is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Essex Property Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Essex Property Trust	$1.77B	10.31	$741.52M	$10.45	27.20
AvalonBay Communities	$2.91B	9.96	$1.08B	$8.03	25.39

Summary

Essex Property Trust beats AvalonBay Communities on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.