CUZ vs HIW vs DEI Stock Comparison

Cousins Properties, Highwoods Properties and Douglas Emmett Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CUZ Cousins Properties Inc
$29.09 +5.4% 1M +14.6% 1Y
Market cap
$4.79B
P/E
322.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.05B
Div. yield
4.40%
Office REITs Real Estate
5 wins
DEI Douglas Emmett Inc
$10.21 +6.1% 1M -19.5% 1Y
Market cap
$1.71B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$1.01B
Div. yield
7.44%
Office REITs Real Estate
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Cousins Properties leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Cousins Properties 5, Highwoods Properties 4, Douglas Emmett 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCUZHIWDEILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $4.79B $3.36B $1.71B CUZ
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 322.8x 18.1x -74.7x HIW
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 138.5x 26.7x — HIW
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.5% +5.4% +0.8% CUZ
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 1.4% 21.7% -2.3% HIW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 31.3x — 23.3x DEI
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 4.40% 6.57% 7.44% DEI
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +14.6% +7.2% -19.5% CUZ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -6.0%/yr -7.5%/yr -20.8%/yr CUZ
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 26.9% 29.4% 30.7% CUZ
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 30/100 47/100 31/100 HIW

Percentile Scorecard

CUZHIWDEI

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

AxisCUZHIWDEI
Valuation 35 #95 of 145 54 #68 of 145 63 #54 of 145
Growth 30 #101 of 143 35 #93 of 143 6 #134 of 143
Profitability 31 #94 of 136 60 #55 of 136 20 #109 of 136
Financial Health 39 #85 of 138 29 #98 of 138 16 #116 of 138
Shareholder Returns 15 #112 of 131 59 #55 of 131 50 #66 of 131
Overall 30 47 31
  • CUZ ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • HIW ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • DEI ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCUZHIWDEISPY
1 month +5.4%+6.3%+6.1% +0.7%
3 months -8.9%-9.9%-15.3% +3.7%
6 months +13.6%+25.3%-5.6% +7.1%
Year to date +12.8%+17.9%-7.1% +12.8%
1 year +14.6%+7.2%-19.5% +11.9%
3 years +62.3%+70.0%-9.3% +85.2%
3 years, per year +17.5%+19.4%-3.2% +22.8%
5 years -26.6%-32.1%-68.8% +67.6%
5 years, per year -6.0%-7.5%-20.8% +10.9%
10 years -5.9%-37.6%-71.7% +262.0%
10 years, per year -0.6%-4.6%-11.9% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCUZHIWDEISPY
Volatility, 1Y 26.9%29.4%30.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 28.4%31.8%30.4% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.580.540.62 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.540.24-0.64 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -58.2%-62.9%-75.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -9.9%-11.5%-21.2% -1.2%
52-week high $32.30$34.39$12.96 $779.14
52-week low $21.34$20.58$9.18 $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.

MultipleCUZHIWDEI
P/E now vs peer median 322.8xmedian 25.7x 18.1xmedian 25.7x -74.7xmedian 25.7x
P/S now vs peer median 4.6xmedian 4.1x 3.9xmedian 4.1x 1.7xmedian 4.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 73.3xmedian 14.3x —median 14.3x 30.7xmedian 14.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median -20.8xmedian 23.5x -9.2xmedian 23.5x -22.7xmedian 23.5x
P/B now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 1.3x 1.3xmedian 1.3x 0.5xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median -6.96median 1.86 1.93median 1.86 2.21median 1.86

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 monthsCUZHIWDEI
Revenue $1.05B $851.95M $1.01B
Gross profit $715.60M – $636.52M
Operating income -$314.84M – -$179.54M
Net income $15.11M $193.92M -$55.59M
Free cash flow -$229.86M -$366.24M -$75.33M
EPS (diluted) $0.09 $1.65 $-0.14
Cash & equivalents $5.21M $279.21M $354.96M
Total debt $3.58B $3.51B $5.72B
Shares (diluted) 165.79M 112.32M 167.49M
Enterprise value $4.77B $3.07B $1.93B

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
MetricCUZHIWDEI
P/E 322.8x 18.1x -74.7x
P/FCF -20.8x -9.2x -22.7x
P/Operating cash flow 11.3x 8.9x 4.4x
P/S 4.6x 3.9x 1.7x
P/B 1.1x 1.3x 0.5x
P/Tangible book 1.1x 1.5x 0.5x
EV/EBITDA 73.3x – 30.7x
EV/EBIT -26.6x – -39.4x
EV/Revenue 8.0x 7.7x 7.0x
EV/FCF -36.4x -18.0x -94.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.8x 17.4x 18.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -6.96 1.93 2.21

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCUZHIWDEI
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.5% 5.4% 0.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 9.3% 0.5% -0.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.5% – 0.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 10.3% – -1.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) -32.4% – -4.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -20.0% – -8.3%
Net income growth (1Y) -74.1% 49.5% -267.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -44.7% 11.2% -45.8%
EPS growth (1Y) -73.8% 46.0% -160.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -46.4% 9.4% -33.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 1.4% 4.5% -1.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 4.5% -0.6% -7.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 75.0% -176.2% -134.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -64.9% -66.8% -31.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCUZHIWDEI
Gross margin 68.4% – 63.2%
EBITDA margin 10.9% – 22.9%
Operating margin -30.1% – -17.8%
Pretax margin -47.3% – -45.0%
Net margin 1.4% 21.7% -2.3%
FCF margin -22.0% -43.0% -7.5%
Operating cash flow margin 40.4% 44.5% 38.3%
Return on equity 0.3% 7.5% -2.0%
Return on assets 0.2% 3.0% -0.7%
Return on invested capital – – –
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.1x 0.1x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 28.0x 2.0x -6.9x
Stock comp / revenue 1.6% 1.1% 2.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCUZHIWDEI
Debt / assets 40.3% 54.5% 59.9%
Debt / equity 0.8x 1.4x 1.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 31.3x – 23.3x
Debt / FCF -15.6x -9.6x -76.0x
Liabilities / assets 49.8% 60.2% 63.2%
Equity / assets 50.2% 39.8% 36.8%
Interest coverage -1.7x – -0.7x
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCUZHIWDEI
Dividend yield 4.4% 6.6% 7.4%
Net buyback yield -1.8% -0.4% –
Shareholder yield 2.6% 6.2% 7.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) 1,419% 113.6% -228.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) -93.3% -60.1% -169.0%
Dividend growth (1Y) 1.7% 2.3% 0.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 3.3% 1.5% -8.3%

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.

ConsensusCUZHIWDEI
Forward P/E 138.5xFY2026 26.7xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $0.21FY2026 $1.14FY2026 $-0.12FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -12.5%FY2026 -21.4%FY2026 -233.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +128.6% -36.0% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.04BFY2026 $908.60MFY2026 $1.09BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +5.6%FY2026 +12.7%FY2026 +9.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +10.4% -8.1% -6.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCUZHIWDEI
Held by institutions 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 394 372 284
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.6% +10.9% +5.5%
Institutions buying 201 214 172
Institutions selling 139 102 77
Buyers to sellers 1.45 2.10 2.23

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.

CUZHIWDEI
CUZ 1.00 0.87 0.70
HIW 0.87 1.00 0.68
DEI 0.70 0.68 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CUZ, HIW and DEI?

Cousins Properties (CUZ) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cousins Properties (CUZ) $4.79B, Highwoods Properties (HIW) $3.36B, Douglas Emmett (DEI) $1.71B.

Which stock is cheaper, CUZ, HIW and DEI?

Highwoods Properties (HIW) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cousins Properties (CUZ) 322.8x, Highwoods Properties (HIW) 18.1x, Douglas Emmett (DEI) -74.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Highwoods Properties (HIW) is cheapest (Cousins Properties (CUZ) 138.5x, Highwoods Properties (HIW) 26.7x). 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) +8.5%, Highwoods Properties (HIW) +5.4%, Douglas Emmett (DEI) +0.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Highwoods Properties (HIW) has the highest net margin (Cousins Properties (CUZ) 1.4%, Highwoods Properties (HIW) 21.7%, Douglas Emmett (DEI) -2.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Cousins Properties (CUZ) returned the most: Cousins Properties (CUZ) +14.6%, Highwoods Properties (HIW) +7.2%, Douglas Emmett (DEI) -19.5%. Over five years, Cousins Properties (CUZ) compounded fastest (Cousins Properties (CUZ) -6.0%/yr, Highwoods Properties (HIW) -7.5%/yr, Douglas Emmett (DEI) -20.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Douglas Emmett (DEI) has the highest dividend yield: Cousins Properties (CUZ) 4.40%, Highwoods Properties (HIW) 6.57%, Douglas Emmett (DEI) 7.44%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cousins Properties (CUZ) has been the steadiest (Cousins Properties (CUZ) 26.9%, Highwoods Properties (HIW) 29.4%, Douglas Emmett (DEI) 30.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Cousins Properties (CUZ) leads on 5. 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.