ELME vs ESS Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
ESS is a large-cap, West Coast-focused apartment REIT with a long dividend growth track record, while ELME is a smaller apartment REIT concentrated in Washington, D.C. that is actively repositioning toward Sun Belt growth markets. Both are geographically concentrated multifamily operators but differ significantly in scale and regional focus.
ELME vs ESS contrasts a smaller, repositioning Washington, D.C.-focused apartment REIT against a large-cap, established West Coast apartment REIT with a long dividend growth history.
ESS holds the edge across 2 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. ELME has delivered stronger 3-month price return (+83.23% vs -7.11% for ESS). ESS leads on both revenue growth (3.10%) and operating margin (33.98%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions.
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- Want exposure to a smaller apartment REIT repositioning toward Sun Belt growth markets
- See value in Elme's stable Washington, D.C. government-driven rental base
- Are comfortable with execution risk during portfolio transition
- Want exposure to a large-cap, established West Coast apartment REIT
- Value Essex's long track record of consistent dividend growth
- Are comfortable with California and Seattle regional concentration risk
| Metric | ELME | ESS |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 24.8 | 37.4 |
| AI ranki | #5626 | #1451 |
| Latest closei | $0.05 | $265.56 |
| 1M returni | +69.54% | -1.15% |
| 3M returni | +83.23% | -7.11% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | ELME | ESS |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $38.49K (+284.9%) started 2026-07-17 | $10.44K (+4.4%) started 2025-11-03 |
| 5Y ago | $38.49K (+284.9%) started 2026-07-17 | $10.26K (+2.6%) started 2021-11-03 |
| 10Y ago | $38.49K (+284.9%) started 2026-07-17 | $22.02K (+120.2%) started 2016-11-03 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | ELME | ESS |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $2.67M | $19.58B |
| Trailing P/Ei | N/A | 44.24 |
| Forward P/Ei | N/A | 46.06 |
| Price/Salesi | 0.01 | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 3.47 | 12.68 |
| Analyst targeti | N/A | $304.99 |
| Target upsidei | N/A | +7.38% |
| Metric | ELME | ESS |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 1.70% | 3.10% |
| Earnings growthi | N/A | -71.80% |
| EPS growthi | N/A | -71.80% |
| FCF margini | N/A | +52.70% |
| Operating margini | -3.44% | 33.98% |
| Profit margini | -74.71% | 20.89% |
| ROIC proxyi | N/A | 7.71% |
| Return on equityi | N/A | 7.71% |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.00% | 3.69% |
| Payout ratioi | 342.86% | 191.84% |
| Dividend growth streaki | N/A | No increase yet |
| Betai | 0.81 | 0.71 |
| Debt/equityi | 78.05 | 122.41 |
| Current ratioi | N/A | 0.25 |
| Quick ratioi | N/A | 0.09 |
Over the past year, ELME and ESS have moved barely in opposite directions (correlation of -0.12), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | ELME | ESS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +94.08% | +4.42% |
| CAGRi | +904.05% | +4.43% | |
| Volatilityi | 10633.70% | 20.10% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 1.84 | 0.09 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 108.25 | 0.13 | |
| Max drawdowni | 97.74% | 12.37% | |
| Current drawdowni | 97.18% | 10.98% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 7.36% | 3.80% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 25.15% | 4.88% | |
| Max daily dropi | 97.74% | 5.03% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 97.18% | 6.10% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +94.08% | -10.21% |
| CAGRi | +904.05% | -2.13% | |
| Volatilityi | 10633.70% | 23.98% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 1.84 | -0.16 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 108.25 | -0.22 | |
| Max drawdowni | 97.74% | 43.87% | |
| Current drawdowni | 97.18% | 17.16% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 7.36% | 20.44% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 25.15% | 23.29% | |
| Max daily dropi | 97.74% | 7.92% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 97.18% | 16.65% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +94.08% | +60.49% |
| CAGRi | +904.05% | +4.85% | |
| Volatilityi | 10633.70% | 25.86% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 1.84 | 0.14 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 108.25 | 0.19 | |
| Max drawdowni | 97.74% | 44.84% | |
| Current drawdowni | 97.18% | 17.16% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 7.36% | 14.83% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 25.15% | 19.19% | |
| Max daily dropi | 97.74% | 18.88% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 97.18% | 28.80% |
| Category | ELME | ESS |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Elme Communities | Essex Property Trust, Inc. |
| Sector | Real Estate - Apartment REIT | Real Estate |
| Industry | REIT - Residential | REIT - Residential |
| Core business | Elme Communities is a smaller apartment REIT that owns and operates multifamily residential properties concentrated in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and select Sun Belt markets. | Essex Property Trust is a large-cap apartment REIT focused on owning and operating multifamily residential properties concentrated in West Coast markets including California and Seattle. |
| Investor focus | Investors track Elme Communities' same-store rent growth and occupancy, portfolio repositioning toward higher-growth Sun Belt markets, and dividend coverage. | Investors track Essex's same-store rent growth and occupancy trends across its West Coast markets, supply-demand dynamics in coastal California, and dividend growth track record. |
- Concentrated focus on the stable, government-driven Washington, D.C. rental market
- Ongoing portfolio repositioning strategy toward higher-growth Sun Belt markets
- Smaller scale provides more room for percentage-based growth
- Concentrated, deep expertise in supply-constrained West Coast coastal markets
- Strong, long track record of dividend growth as a REIT sector leader
- Large scale provides cost of capital and operational efficiency advantages
- Much smaller scale than larger apartment REIT peers limits diversification and capital cost advantages
- Washington, D.C. market growth has historically been more modest than faster-growing Sun Belt metros
- Portfolio repositioning strategy carries execution and transaction cost risk
- Geographic concentration in California and Seattle creates regional economic and regulatory risk
- California's rent control and tenant protection laws can limit rent growth flexibility
- Higher new apartment supply in some West Coast submarkets can pressure occupancy
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