Essex Property Trust, Inc. vs Moody's Corporation — how do they compare? Essex Property Trust, Inc. trades at $282.11 (market cap $18.20B), while Moody's Corporation trades at $476.73 (market cap $82.80B). The key difference: Moody's Corporation is far larger — about 4.5× Essex Property Trust, Inc.'s market cap, and Essex Property Trust, Inc. pays the higher dividend (3.66%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| ESS | MCO | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $18.20B | $82.80B |
Sector | Real Estate | Financials |
52-Week High | $298.33 | $539.61 |
52-Week Low | $239.61 | $412.23 |
Enterprise Value | $24.80B | $88.83B |
Dividend Yield | 3.66% | 0.86% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
ESS trades at $288.1, up 1.05% daily, with a neutral technical signal and support near $284. The stock shows strong profitability with a 21.48% net margin and recent Q2 2026 earnings miss on EPS but beat on FFO, leading to raised full-year guidance. Revenue growth is steady, reaching $1.89B in 2025, though net income declined to $670M from $742M in 2024.
Outlook is cautiously optimistic with a consensus price target of $305.86, implying ~6% upside. Risks include high debt levels (debt-to-asset ratio of 51.92% in 2024) and regional economic exposure. Analyst sentiment is mixed with 40% buy ratings, but institutional interest grew with Amundi increasing its stake in Q1 2026.
MCO trades at $477.75, up 0.98% on the day, with a bullish technical signal and strong fundamentals. Recent Q2 2026 earnings beat expectations with EPS of $4.68 versus $4.26 expected, driven by robust debt issuance and analytics demand. Revenue growth accelerated to 15% year-over-year, with net income margin expanding to 34.25%. The stock is supported by a consensus price target of $561.88, indicating 17.6% upside potential, and positive analyst sentiment with 56% buy ratings.
Outlook remains positive due to consistent earnings beats, high profitability, and strategic positioning in credit ratings. Risks include elevated valuation multiples, such as a P/E of 30.31, and dependence on capital market activity. Investors should weigh growth prospects against potential macroeconomic headwinds affecting debt issuance volumes.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
Essex Property Trust owns a portfolio of 253 apartment communities with over 62,000 units and is developing three additional properties with 571 units. The company focuses on owning large, high-quality properties on the West Coast in the urban and suburban submarkets of Southern California, Northern California, and Seattle.
Read more on ESS →Moody's, along with S&P Ratings, is a leading provider of credit ratings on fixed income securities. Moody's ratings segment, known as Moody's Investors Service or MIS, includes corporates, structured finance, financial institutions, and public finance ratings. MIS represents a majority of the firm's revenue and profits. Moody's other segment is Moody's Analytics and consists of Research, Data, and Analytics or RD&A and Enterprise Risk Solutions or ERS. RD&A's products include credit research, quantitative credit scores, economic research, business intelligence, know your customer (KYC) tools, commercial real estate data and analytical tools, and training services. ERS includes risk management software solutions to financial institutions.
Read more on MCO →