CDP vs CUZ vs ESRT Stock Comparison

Copt Defense Properties, Cousins Properties and Empire State Realty Trust Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CDP Copt Defense Properties
$34.10 +0.5% 1M +20.2% 1Y
Market cap
$3.82B
P/E
23.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$784.18M
Div. yield
0.04%
Office REITs Real Estate
8 wins
CUZ Cousins Properties Inc
$29.18 +1.8% 1M +9.7% 1Y
Market cap
$4.75B
P/E
739.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.03B
Div. yield
0.05%
Office REITs Real Estate
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Copt Defense Properties leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Copt Defense Properties 8, Cousins Properties 3, Empire State Realty Trust 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCDPCUZESRTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.82B $4.75B $861.18M CUZ
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 23.3x 739.6x 280.2x CDP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 23.0x 139.0x — CDP
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.5% +11.9% +2.0% CUZ
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 20.9% 0.6% 0.4% CDP
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.0% — -1.1% CDP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 6.7x 34.6x 5.0x ESRT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.04% 0.05% 0.03% CUZ
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +20.2% +9.7% -36.6% CDP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +4.6%/yr -5.8%/yr -13.7%/yr CDP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 18.5% 27.1% 36.7% CDP
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 49/100 28/100 35/100 CDP

Percentile Scorecard

CDPCUZESRT

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

AxisCDPCUZESRT
Valuation 47 #78 of 145 26 #108 of 145 76 #35 of 145
Growth 61 #56 of 142 29 #101 of 142 1 #140 of 142
Profitability 77 #32 of 136 30 #96 of 136 25 #102 of 136
Financial Health 25 #105 of 139 38 #87 of 139 60 #56 of 139
Shareholder Returns 38 #82 of 131 19 #106 of 131 12 #115 of 131
Overall 49 28 35
  • CDP ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • CUZ ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • ESRT ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCDPCUZESRTSPY
1 month +0.5%+1.8%+22.9% -0.8%
3 months -10.9%-9.0%-10.5% +3.5%
6 months +5.5%+16.3%-11.2% +7.0%
Year to date +22.7%+13.2%-22.5% +12.2%
1 year +20.2%+9.7%-36.6% +13.0%
3 years +48.5%+63.2%-37.0% +86.3%
3 years, per year +14.1%+17.7%-14.3% +23.1%
5 years +25.2%-25.8%-52.0% +68.6%
5 years, per year +4.6%-5.8%-13.7% +11.0%
10 years +25.3%-5.1%-74.4% +258.0%
10 years, per year +2.3%-0.5%-12.7% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureCDPCUZESRTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 18.5%27.1%36.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 16.9%28.9%42.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.120.590.32 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.090.36-1.00 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -26.0%-58.2%-65.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.1%-9.7%-36.6% -1.8%
52-week high $38.34$32.30$7.96 $779.14
52-week low $27.32$21.34$3.93 $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.

MultipleCDPCUZESRT
P/E now vs peer median 23.4xmedian 27.4x 747.4xmedian 27.4x 281.1xmedian 27.4x
P/S now vs peer median 4.9xmedian 4.2x 4.6xmedian 4.2x 1.1xmedian 4.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 16.7xmedian 14.2x 79.1xmedian 14.2x 10.0xmedian 14.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median 122.3xmedian 23.2x -13.0xmedian 23.2x -2.0xmedian 23.2x
P/B now vs peer median 2.4xmedian 1.3x 1.1xmedian 1.3x 0.5xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median -4.31median 2.11 -11.34median 2.11 -4.70median 2.11

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 monthsCDPCUZESRT
Revenue $784.18M $1.03B $784.18M
Gross profit $754.22M $704.58M –
Operating income $207.72M -$322.93M -$34.52M
Net income $171.84M $6.88M $9.26M
Free cash flow $31.63M -$369.91M -$437.31M
EPS (diluted) $1.43 $0.04 $0.01
Cash & equivalents $24.16M $6.70M $85.61M
Total debt $2.59B $3.73B $4.54B
Shares (diluted) 114.90M 165.29M 268.95M
Enterprise value $3.47B $4.73B $419.99M

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
MetricCDPCUZESRT
P/E 23.4x 747.4x 281.1x
P/FCF 122.3x -13.0x -2.0x
P/Operating cash flow 11.5x 11.1x 3.8x
P/S 4.9x 4.6x 1.1x
P/B 2.4x 1.1x 0.5x
P/Tangible book 2.4x 1.1x 0.5x
EV/EBITDA 16.7x 79.1x 10.0x
EV/EBIT 31.0x -26.4x -50.3x
EV/Revenue 8.2x 8.2x 2.2x
EV/FCF 203.5x -23.1x -4.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.1x 19.7x 7.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -4.31 -11.34 -4.70

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCDPCUZESRT
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.5% 11.9% 2.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.1% 9.1% 2.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7.6% 11.0% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.4% 10.2% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 19.5% -45.3% -123.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 28.6% -21.9% -31.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 14.4% -88.7% -86.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -4.4% -64.2% -51.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 12.2% -89.1% -92.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -5.4% -65.9% -59.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 3.5% 4.4% -13.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.0% 5.4% -0.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -17.2% 47.5% -169.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 31.7% -98.0% -149.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCDPCUZESRT
Gross margin 96.2% 68.1% –
EBITDA margin 49.1% 10.4% 22.1%
Operating margin 26.5% -31.2% -4.4%
Pretax margin 21.5% -48.2% 1.3%
Net margin 20.9% 0.6% 0.4%
FCF margin 4.0% -35.7% -55.8%
Operating cash flow margin 43.0% 41.7% 29.0%
Return on equity 10.9% 0.2% 0.5%
Return on assets 3.8% 0.1% 0.2%
Return on invested capital 5.0% – -1.1%
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.1x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.0x 62.8x 24.6x
Stock comp / revenue 1.6% 1.6% 3.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCDPCUZESRT
Debt / assets 57.4% 41.3% 22.4%
Debt / equity 1.6x 0.8x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 6.7x 34.6x 5.0x
Debt / FCF 82.0x -10.1x -2.2x
Liabilities / assets 65.0% 50.3% 58.1%
Equity / assets 35.0% 49.7% 41.9%
Interest coverage 2.2x -1.8x -0.3x
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCDPCUZESRT
Dividend yield 3.7% 4.4% 3.1%
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield 3.7% 4.4% 3.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) 81.3% 3,132% 259.1%
Payout ratio (FCF) 441.8% -58.2% -5.5%
Dividend growth (1Y) 4.1% 4.8% 2.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 3.8% 3.2% 1.9%

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.

ConsensusCDPCUZESRT
Forward P/E 23.0xFY2026 139.0xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $1.48FY2026 $0.21FY2026 $-0.35FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +10.4%FY2026 -12.5%FY2026 -240.0%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after -5.4% +128.6% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $739.29MFY2026 $1.04BFY2026 $758.24MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +3.5%FY2026 +5.6%FY2026 -1.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +10.5% +10.4% +4.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCDPCUZESRT
Held by institutions 100.0% 100.0% 83.1%
Institutions holding 329 393 228
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.5% +0.6% +0.4%
Institutions buying 156 200 141
Institutions selling 108 139 51
Buyers to sellers 1.44 1.44 2.76

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.

CDPCUZESRT
CDP 1.00 0.46 0.39
CUZ 0.46 1.00 0.48
ESRT 0.39 0.48 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CDP, CUZ and ESRT?

Cousins Properties (CUZ) is the largest by market capitalisation: Copt Defense Properties (CDP) $3.82B, Cousins Properties (CUZ) $4.75B, Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) $861.18M.

Which stock is cheaper, CDP, CUZ and ESRT?

Copt Defense Properties (CDP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Copt Defense Properties (CDP) 23.3x, Cousins Properties (CUZ) 739.6x, Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) 280.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) is cheapest (Copt Defense Properties (CDP) 23.0x, Cousins Properties (CUZ) 139.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Cousins Properties (CUZ) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Copt Defense Properties (CDP) +4.5%, Cousins Properties (CUZ) +11.9%, Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) +2.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Copt Defense Properties (CDP) has the highest net margin (Copt Defense Properties (CDP) 20.9%, Cousins Properties (CUZ) 0.6%, Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) 0.4%). On return on invested capital, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) leads (Copt Defense Properties (CDP) 5.0%, Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) -1.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Copt Defense Properties (CDP) returned the most: Copt Defense Properties (CDP) +20.2%, Cousins Properties (CUZ) +9.7%, Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) -36.6%. Over five years, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) compounded fastest (Copt Defense Properties (CDP) +4.6%/yr, Cousins Properties (CUZ) -5.8%/yr, Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) -13.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Cousins Properties (CUZ) has the highest dividend yield: Copt Defense Properties (CDP) 0.04%, Cousins Properties (CUZ) 0.05%, Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) 0.03%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) has been the steadiest (Copt Defense Properties (CDP) 18.5%, Cousins Properties (CUZ) 27.1%, Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) 36.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CDP, CUZ and ESRT?

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 8. 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.