ALX vs HIW vs CDP Stock Comparison

Alexanders, Highwoods Properties and Copt Defense Properties Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ALX Alexanders Inc
$248.95 +0.5% 1M +5.2% 1Y
Market cap
$1.28B
P/E
7.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$214.80M
Div. yield
0.07%
Office REITs Real Estate
3 wins
CDP Copt Defense Properties
$33.94 +0.1% 1M +20.1% 1Y
Market cap
$3.78B
P/E
23.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$784.18M
Div. yield
0.04%
Office REITs Real Estate
6 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Copt Defense Properties leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Copt Defense Properties 6, Alexanders 3, Highwoods Properties 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionALXHIWCDPLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.28B $3.21B $3.78B CDP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 7.5x 17.3x 23.0x ALX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 29.5x 26.2x 22.9x CDP
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -1.5% +5.4% +4.5% HIW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 79.1% 21.7% 20.9% ALX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — 5.0% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — 6.7x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.07% 0.07% 0.04% ALX
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +5.2% +0.9% +20.1% CDP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -2.5%/yr -8.1%/yr +4.3%/yr CDP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.9% 29.3% 18.5% CDP
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 36/100 49/100 49/100 CDP

Percentile Scorecard

ALXHIWCDP

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisALXHIWCDP
Valuation 33 #98 of 145 55 #66 of 145 48 #76 of 145
Growth 33 #95 of 141 36 #90 of 141 61 #56 of 141
Profitability 46 #73 of 134 63 #50 of 134 78 #30 of 134
Financial Health 10 #125 of 138 31 #96 of 138 26 #102 of 138
Shareholder Returns 59 #55 of 131 58 #56 of 131 33 #88 of 131
Overall 36 49 49
  • ALX ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • HIW ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • CDP ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodALXHIWCDPSPY
1 month +0.5%-0.9%+0.1% -0.2%
3 months -7.4%-11.3%-11.2% +3.9%
6 months -0.1%+19.7%+5.8% +8.2%
Year to date +14.2%+15.5%+22.1% +12.9%
1 year +5.2%+0.9%+20.1% +12.3%
3 years +38.9%+67.6%+47.8% +87.4%
3 years, per year +11.6%+18.8%+13.9% +23.3%
5 years -11.9%-34.3%+23.3% +67.9%
5 years, per year -2.5%-8.1%+4.3% +10.9%
10 years -35.1%-39.0%+26.1% +261.1%
10 years, per year -4.2%-4.8%+2.3% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureALXHIWCDPSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.9%29.3%18.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 30.4%32.0%16.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.230.550.11 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.190.031.09 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -44.5%-62.9%-26.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -13.1%-13.3%-11.5% -1.2%
52-week high $286.59$34.39$38.34 $779.14
52-week low $205.15$20.58$27.32 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleALXHIWCDP
P/E now vs peer median 7.5xmedian 26.3x 17.8xmedian 26.3x 23.3xmedian 26.3x
P/S now vs peer median 5.9xmedian 4.0x 3.9xmedian 4.0x 4.9xmedian 4.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 14.4x —median 14.4x 16.7xmedian 14.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 87.5xmedian 23.3x -9.0xmedian 23.3x 121.7xmedian 23.3x
P/B now vs peer median 5.7xmedian 1.3x 1.3xmedian 1.3x 2.4xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median 0.42median 1.91 1.89median 1.91 -4.29median 1.91

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsALXHIWCDP
Revenue $214.80M $851.95M $784.18M
Gross profit – – $754.22M
Operating income – – $207.72M
Net income $169.82M $193.92M $171.84M
Free cash flow $14.53M -$366.24M $31.63M
EPS (diluted) $33.05 $1.65 $1.43
Cash & equivalents $303.31M $279.21M $24.16M
Total debt $3.48B $3.51B $2.59B
Shares (diluted) 5.14M 112.32M 114.90M
Enterprise value $482.07M $2.72B $3.42B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricALXHIWCDP
P/E 7.5x 17.8x 23.3x
P/FCF 87.5x -9.0x 121.7x
P/Operating cash flow 46.8x 8.7x 11.4x
P/S 5.9x 3.9x 4.9x
P/B 5.7x 1.3x 2.4x
P/Tangible book 5.7x 1.4x 2.4x
EV/EBITDA – – 16.7x
EV/EBIT – – 30.9x
EV/Revenue 8.4x 7.7x 8.2x
EV/FCF 124.1x -17.8x 202.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 66.4x 17.2x 19.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.42 1.89 -4.29

Growth

14 metrics
MetricALXHIWCDP
Revenue growth (1Y) -1.5% 5.4% 4.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 0.2% 0.5% 4.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – 7.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – 7.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) – – 19.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – – 28.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 354.2% 49.5% 14.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 17.9% 11.2% -4.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 354.0% 46.0% 12.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 17.8% 9.4% -5.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -68.1% 4.5% 3.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -28.8% -0.6% 8.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -74.4% -176.2% -17.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -38.2% -66.8% 31.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricALXHIWCDP
Gross margin – – 96.2%
EBITDA margin – – 49.1%
Operating margin – – 26.5%
Pretax margin – – 21.5%
Net margin 79.1% 21.7% 20.9%
FCF margin 6.8% -43.0% 4.0%
Operating cash flow margin 12.6% 44.5% 43.0%
Return on equity – 7.5% 10.9%
Return on assets – 3.0% 3.8%
Return on invested capital – – 5.0%
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.1x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.2x 2.0x 2.0x
Stock comp / revenue – 1.1% 1.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricALXHIWCDP
Debt / assets 69.4% 54.5% 57.4%
Debt / equity 3.7x 1.4x 1.6x
Net debt / EBITDA – – 6.7x
Debt / FCF 57.4x -9.6x 82.0x
Liabilities / assets 81.4% 60.2% 65.0%
Equity / assets 18.6% 39.8% 35.0%
Interest coverage – – 2.2x
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricALXHIWCDP
Dividend yield 7.2% 6.7% 3.7%
Net buyback yield – -0.4% –
Shareholder yield 7.2% 6.3% 3.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) 54.4% 113.6% 81.3%
Payout ratio (FCF) 636.3% -60.1% 441.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) 0.0% 2.3% 4.1%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 0.1% 1.5% 3.8%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusALXHIWCDP
Forward P/E 29.5xFY2027 26.2xFY2026 22.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.44FY2027 $1.14FY2026 $1.48FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -31.2%FY2027 -21.4%FY2026 +10.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – -36.0% -5.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $259.67MFY2026 $908.60MFY2026 $739.29MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +21.8%FY2026 +12.7%FY2026 +3.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -8.1% -8.1% +10.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersALXHIWCDP
Held by institutions 38.9% 100.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 153 371 329
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.7% +10.9% +0.5%
Institutions buying 71 214 156
Institutions selling 50 102 108
Buyers to sellers 1.42 2.10 1.44

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ALXHIWCDP
ALX 1.00 0.35 0.39
HIW 0.35 1.00 0.47
CDP 0.39 0.47 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ALX, HIW and CDP?

Copt Defense Properties (CDP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Alexanders (ALX) $1.28B, Highwoods Properties (HIW) $3.21B, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) $3.78B.

Which stock is cheaper, ALX, HIW and CDP?

Alexanders (ALX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Alexanders (ALX) 7.5x, Highwoods Properties (HIW) 17.3x, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) 23.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) is cheapest (Alexanders (ALX) 29.5x, Highwoods Properties (HIW) 26.2x, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) 22.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Highwoods Properties (HIW) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Alexanders (ALX) -1.5%, Highwoods Properties (HIW) +5.4%, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) +4.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Alexanders (ALX) has the highest net margin (Alexanders (ALX) 79.1%, Highwoods Properties (HIW) 21.7%, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) 20.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Copt Defense Properties (CDP) returned the most: Alexanders (ALX) +5.2%, Highwoods Properties (HIW) +0.9%, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) +20.1%. Over five years, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) compounded fastest (Alexanders (ALX) -2.5%/yr, Highwoods Properties (HIW) -8.1%/yr, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) +4.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Alexanders (ALX) has the highest dividend yield: Alexanders (ALX) 0.07%, Highwoods Properties (HIW) 0.07%, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) 0.04%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) has been the steadiest (Alexanders (ALX) 27.9%, Highwoods Properties (HIW) 29.3%, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) 18.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ALX, HIW and CDP?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.