CUZ vs CDP vs HIW Stock Comparison

Cousins Properties, Copt Defense Properties and Highwoods Properties Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CUZ Cousins Properties Inc
$28.50 +1.5% 1M +8.2% 1Y
Market cap
$4.69B
P/E
730.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.03B
Div. yield
4.49%
Office REITs Real Estate
2 wins
CDP Copt Defense Properties
$33.46 -0.9% 1M +19.5% 1Y
Market cap
$3.79B
P/E
23.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$784.18M
Div. yield
3.78%
Office REITs Real Estate
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Copt Defense Properties leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Copt Defense Properties 6, Highwoods Properties 3, Cousins Properties 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCUZCDPHIWLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $4.69B $3.79B $3.22B CUZ
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 730.0x 23.0x 17.4x HIW
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 135.7x 22.6x 25.6x CDP
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +11.9% +4.5% +5.4% CUZ
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 0.6% 20.9% 21.7% HIW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 5.0% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 34.6x 6.7x — CDP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 4.49% 3.78% 6.85% HIW
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +8.2% +19.5% -1.1% CDP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -6.4%/yr +4.3%/yr -8.2%/yr CDP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.1% 18.5% 29.4% CDP
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 29/100 50/100 48/100 CDP

Percentile Scorecard

CUZCDPHIW

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

AxisCUZCDPHIW
Valuation 29 #103 of 145 48 #76 of 145 54 #67 of 145
Growth 28 #102 of 142 60 #57 of 142 36 #91 of 142
Profitability 31 #94 of 135 80 #28 of 135 61 #53 of 135
Financial Health 37 #86 of 136 27 #100 of 136 31 #94 of 136
Shareholder Returns 19 #107 of 131 35 #85 of 131 58 #56 of 131
Overall 29 50 48
  • CUZ ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • CDP ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • HIW ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCUZCDPHIWSPY
1 month +1.5%-0.9%-0.6% +0.9%
3 months -11.8%-12.1%-15.1% +5.9%
6 months +13.7%+8.1%+23.1% +8.5%
Year to date +10.6%+20.4%+13.1% +13.3%
1 year +8.2%+19.5%-1.1% +12.4%
3 years +59.4%+45.7%+64.1% +88.1%
3 years, per year +16.8%+13.4%+18.0% +23.5%
5 years -28.0%+23.4%-34.9% +68.2%
5 years, per year -6.4%+4.3%-8.2% +11.0%
10 years -7.8%+27.1%-40.2% +263.4%
10 years, per year -0.8%+2.4%-5.0% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureCUZCDPHIWSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.1%18.5%29.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 28.8%17.0%32.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.590.110.55 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.301.05-0.04 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -58.2%-26.0%-62.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.8%-12.7%-15.1% -0.9%
52-week high $32.30$38.34$34.39 $779.14
52-week low $21.34$27.32$20.58 $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.

MultipleCUZCDPHIW
P/E now vs peer median 730.0xmedian 25.8x 23.0xmedian 25.8x 17.4xmedian 25.8x
P/S now vs peer median 4.5xmedian 4.0x 4.8xmedian 4.0x 3.8xmedian 4.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 78.1xmedian 14.2x 16.5xmedian 14.2x —median 14.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median -12.7xmedian 23.0x 120.0xmedian 23.0x -8.8xmedian 23.0x
P/B now vs peer median 1.0xmedian 1.3x 2.4xmedian 1.3x 1.3xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median -11.07median 1.91 -4.23median 1.91 1.85median 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 monthsCUZCDPHIW
Revenue $1.03B $784.18M $851.95M
Gross profit $704.58M $754.22M –
Operating income -$322.93M $207.72M –
Net income $6.88M $171.84M $193.92M
Free cash flow -$369.91M $31.63M -$366.24M
EPS (diluted) $0.04 $1.43 $1.65
Cash & equivalents $6.70M $24.16M $279.21M
Total debt $3.73B $2.59B $3.51B
Shares (diluted) 165.29M 114.90M 112.32M
Enterprise value $4.68B $3.50B $2.93B

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
MetricCUZCDPHIW
P/E 730.0x 23.0x 17.4x
P/FCF -12.7x 120.0x -8.8x
P/Operating cash flow 10.9x 11.2x 8.5x
P/S 4.5x 4.8x 3.8x
P/B 1.0x 2.4x 1.3x
P/Tangible book 1.0x 2.4x 1.4x
EV/EBITDA 78.1x 16.5x –
EV/EBIT -26.1x 30.6x –
EV/Revenue 8.1x 8.1x 7.6x
EV/FCF -22.8x 201.2x -17.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.5x 18.9x 17.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -11.07 -4.23 1.85

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCUZCDPHIW
Revenue growth (1Y) 11.9% 4.5% 5.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 9.1% 4.1% 0.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.0% 7.6% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 10.2% 7.4% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -45.3% 19.5% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -21.9% 28.6% –
Net income growth (1Y) -88.7% 14.4% 49.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -64.2% -4.4% 11.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -89.1% 12.2% 46.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -65.9% -5.4% 9.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 4.4% 3.5% 4.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.4% 8.0% -0.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 47.5% -17.2% -176.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -98.0% 31.7% -66.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCUZCDPHIW
Gross margin 68.1% 96.2% –
EBITDA margin 10.4% 49.1% –
Operating margin -31.2% 26.5% –
Pretax margin -48.2% 21.5% –
Net margin 0.6% 20.9% 21.7%
FCF margin -35.7% 4.0% -43.0%
Operating cash flow margin 41.7% 43.0% 44.5%
Return on equity 0.2% 10.9% 7.5%
Return on assets 0.1% 3.8% 3.0%
Return on invested capital – 5.0% –
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.1x 0.2x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 62.8x 2.0x 2.0x
Stock comp / revenue 1.6% 1.6% 1.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCUZCDPHIW
Debt / assets 41.3% 57.4% 54.5%
Debt / equity 0.8x 1.6x 1.4x
Net debt / EBITDA 34.6x 6.7x –
Debt / FCF -10.1x 82.0x -9.6x
Liabilities / assets 50.3% 65.0% 60.2%
Equity / assets 49.7% 35.0% 39.8%
Interest coverage -1.8x 2.2x –
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCUZCDPHIW
Dividend yield 4.5% 3.8% 6.8%
Net buyback yield – – -0.4%
Shareholder yield 4.5% 3.8% 6.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) 3,132% 81.3% 113.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) -58.2% 441.8% -60.1%
Dividend growth (1Y) 4.8% 4.1% 2.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 3.2% 3.8% 1.5%

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.

ConsensusCUZCDPHIW
Forward P/E 135.7xFY2026 22.6xFY2026 25.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.21FY2026 $1.48FY2026 $1.14FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -12.5%FY2026 +10.4%FY2026 -21.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +128.6% -5.4% -36.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.04BFY2026 $739.29MFY2026 $908.60MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +5.6%FY2026 +3.5%FY2026 +12.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +10.4% +10.5% -8.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCUZCDPHIW
Held by institutions 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 393 329 371
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.6% +0.5% +10.9%
Institutions buying 200 156 214
Institutions selling 139 108 102
Buyers to sellers 1.44 1.44 2.10

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.

CUZCDPHIW
CUZ 1.00 0.46 0.87
CDP 0.46 1.00 0.48
HIW 0.87 0.48 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CUZ, CDP and HIW?

Cousins Properties (CUZ) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cousins Properties (CUZ) $4.69B, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) $3.79B, Highwoods Properties (HIW) $3.22B.

Which stock is cheaper, CUZ, CDP and HIW?

Highwoods Properties (HIW) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cousins Properties (CUZ) 730.0x, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) 23.0x, Highwoods Properties (HIW) 17.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) is cheapest (Cousins Properties (CUZ) 135.7x, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) 22.6x, Highwoods Properties (HIW) 25.6x). 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: Cousins Properties (CUZ) +11.9%, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) +4.5%, Highwoods Properties (HIW) +5.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Highwoods Properties (HIW) has the highest net margin (Cousins Properties (CUZ) 0.6%, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) 20.9%, Highwoods Properties (HIW) 21.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Copt Defense Properties (CDP) returned the most: Cousins Properties (CUZ) +8.2%, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) +19.5%, Highwoods Properties (HIW) -1.1%. Over five years, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) compounded fastest (Cousins Properties (CUZ) -6.4%/yr, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) +4.3%/yr, Highwoods Properties (HIW) -8.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Highwoods Properties (HIW) has the highest dividend yield: Cousins Properties (CUZ) 4.49%, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) 3.78%, Highwoods Properties (HIW) 6.85%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) has been the steadiest (Cousins Properties (CUZ) 27.1%, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) 18.5%, Highwoods Properties (HIW) 29.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.