CUZ vs ESRT vs CDP Stock Comparison

Cousins Properties, Empire State Realty Trust and Copt Defense Properties Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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CUZ Cousins Properties Inc
$28.86 +0.7% 1M +8.0% 1Y
Market cap
$4.68B
P/E
728.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.03B
Div. yield
0.05%
Office REITs Real Estate
3 wins
CDP Copt Defense Properties
$33.94 +0.1% 1M +20.1% 1Y
Market cap
$3.79B
P/E
23.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$784.18M
Div. yield
0.04%
Office REITs Real Estate
8 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.

QuestionCUZESRTCDPLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $4.68B $854.15M $3.79B CUZ
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 728.0x 278.0x 23.1x CDP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 137.4x — 22.9x CDP
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +11.9% +2.0% +4.5% CUZ
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 0.6% 0.4% 20.9% CDP
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — -1.1% 5.0% CDP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 34.6x 5.0x 6.7x ESRT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.05% 0.03% 0.04% CUZ
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +8.0% -36.8% +20.1% CDP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -6.3%/yr -12.8%/yr +4.3%/yr CDP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.1% 36.6% 18.5% CDP
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 29/100 35/100 49/100 CDP

Percentile Scorecard

CUZESRTCDP

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

AxisCUZESRTCDP
Valuation 30 #102 of 145 78 #33 of 145 48 #76 of 145
Growth 29 #101 of 141 1 #139 of 141 61 #56 of 141
Profitability 31 #93 of 134 26 #99 of 134 78 #30 of 134
Financial Health 37 #88 of 138 57 #60 of 138 26 #102 of 138
Shareholder Returns 19 #106 of 131 13 #114 of 131 33 #88 of 131
Overall 29 35 49
  • CUZ ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • ESRT 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

PeriodCUZESRTCDPSPY
1 month +0.7%+22.4%+0.1% -0.2%
3 months -9.0%-11.1%-11.2% +3.9%
6 months +12.7%-12.2%+5.8% +8.2%
Year to date +11.9%-22.9%+22.1% +12.9%
1 year +8.0%-36.8%+20.1% +12.3%
3 years +61.4%-37.3%+47.8% +87.4%
3 years, per year +17.3%-14.4%+13.9% +23.3%
5 years -27.6%-49.6%+23.3% +67.9%
5 years, per year -6.3%-12.8%+4.3% +10.9%
10 years -6.2%-74.0%+26.1% +261.1%
10 years, per year -0.6%-12.6%+2.3% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCUZESRTCDPSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.1%36.6%18.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 28.8%41.8%16.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.590.320.11 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.30-1.011.09 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -58.2%-65.6%-26.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -10.7%-36.8%-11.5% -1.2%
52-week high $32.30$7.96$38.34 $779.14
52-week low $21.34$3.93$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.

MultipleCUZESRTCDP
P/E now vs peer median 739.2xmedian 26.3x 280.0xmedian 26.3x 23.3xmedian 26.3x
P/S now vs peer median 4.6xmedian 4.0x 1.1xmedian 4.0x 4.9xmedian 4.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 78.6xmedian 14.4x 10.0xmedian 14.4x 16.7xmedian 14.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median -12.8xmedian 23.3x -2.0xmedian 23.3x 121.7xmedian 23.3x
P/B now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 1.3x 0.5xmedian 1.3x 2.4xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median -11.21median 1.91 -4.68median 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 monthsCUZESRTCDP
Revenue $1.03B $784.18M $784.18M
Gross profit $704.58M – $754.22M
Operating income -$322.93M -$34.52M $207.72M
Net income $6.88M $9.26M $171.84M
Free cash flow -$369.91M -$437.31M $31.63M
EPS (diluted) $0.04 $0.01 $1.43
Cash & equivalents $6.70M $85.61M $24.16M
Total debt $3.73B $4.54B $2.59B
Shares (diluted) 165.29M 268.95M 114.90M
Enterprise value $4.65B $412.96M $3.44B

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
MetricCUZESRTCDP
P/E 739.2x 280.0x 23.3x
P/FCF -12.8x -2.0x 121.7x
P/Operating cash flow 11.0x 3.8x 11.4x
P/S 4.6x 1.1x 4.9x
P/B 1.1x 0.5x 2.4x
P/Tangible book 1.1x 0.5x 2.4x
EV/EBITDA 78.6x 10.0x 16.7x
EV/EBIT -26.2x -50.2x 30.9x
EV/Revenue 8.2x 2.2x 8.2x
EV/FCF -22.9x -4.0x 202.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.6x 7.6x 19.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -11.21 -4.68 -4.29

Growth

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

Profitability

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

Financial Health

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

Shareholder Returns

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

ConsensusCUZESRTCDP
Forward P/E 137.4xFY2026 – 22.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.21FY2026 $-0.35FY2027 $1.48FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -12.5%FY2026 -240.0%FY2027 +10.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +128.6% – -5.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.04BFY2026 $758.24MFY2026 $739.29MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +5.6%FY2026 -1.3%FY2026 +3.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +10.4% +4.5% +10.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCUZESRTCDP
Held by institutions 100.0% 83.6% 100.0%
Institutions holding 393 228 329
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.6% +0.4% +0.5%
Institutions buying 200 141 156
Institutions selling 139 51 108
Buyers to sellers 1.44 2.76 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.

CUZESRTCDP
CUZ 1.00 0.48 0.46
ESRT 0.48 1.00 0.39
CDP 0.46 0.39 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CUZ, ESRT and CDP?

Cousins Properties (CUZ) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cousins Properties (CUZ) $4.68B, Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) $854.15M, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) $3.79B.

Which stock is cheaper, CUZ, ESRT and CDP?

Copt Defense Properties (CDP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cousins Properties (CUZ) 728.0x, Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) 278.0x, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) 23.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) is cheapest (Cousins Properties (CUZ) 137.4x, 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?

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

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Copt Defense Properties (CDP) returned the most: Cousins Properties (CUZ) +8.0%, Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) -36.8%, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) +20.1%. Over five years, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) compounded fastest (Cousins Properties (CUZ) -6.3%/yr, Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) -12.8%/yr, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) +4.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

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

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) has been the steadiest (Cousins Properties (CUZ) 27.1%, Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) 36.6%, Copt Defense Properties (CDP) 18.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CUZ, ESRT 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 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.