DEI vs CUZ vs HIW Stock Comparison

Douglas Emmett, Cousins Properties and Highwoods Properties Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
DEI Douglas Emmett Inc
$10.01 +3.4% 1M -24.3% 1Y
Market cap
$1.70B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$1.01B
Div. yield
0.07%
Office REITs Real Estate
2 wins
CUZ Cousins Properties Inc
$28.50 +1.5% 1M +8.2% 1Y
Market cap
$4.79B
P/E
746.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.03B
Div. yield
0.04%
Office REITs Real Estate
5 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.

QuestionDEICUZHIWLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.70B $4.79B $3.34B CUZ
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -74.5x 746.0x 18.0x HIW
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 135.7x 25.6x HIW
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +0.8% +11.9% +5.4% CUZ
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -2.3% 0.6% 21.7% HIW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 23.3x 34.6x — DEI
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.07% 0.04% 0.07% DEI
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -24.3% +8.2% -1.1% CUZ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -21.1%/yr -6.4%/yr -8.2%/yr CUZ
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 30.9% 27.1% 29.4% CUZ
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 31/100 29/100 48/100 HIW

Percentile Scorecard

DEICUZHIW

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

AxisDEICUZHIW
Valuation 65 #52 of 145 29 #103 of 145 54 #67 of 145
Growth 6 #133 of 142 28 #102 of 142 36 #91 of 142
Profitability 20 #108 of 135 31 #94 of 135 61 #53 of 135
Financial Health 16 #114 of 136 37 #86 of 136 31 #94 of 136
Shareholder Returns 49 #67 of 131 19 #107 of 131 58 #56 of 131
Overall 31 29 48
  • DEI ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • CUZ 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

PeriodDEICUZHIWSPY
1 month +3.4%+1.5%-0.6% +0.9%
3 months -18.3%-11.8%-15.1% +5.9%
6 months -7.0%+13.7%+23.1% +8.5%
Year to date -8.9%+10.6%+13.1% +13.3%
1 year -24.3%+8.2%-1.1% +12.4%
3 years -10.1%+59.4%+64.1% +88.1%
3 years, per year -3.5%+16.8%+18.0% +23.5%
5 years -69.4%-28.0%-34.9% +68.2%
5 years, per year -21.1%-6.4%-8.2% +11.0%
10 years -72.2%-7.8%-40.2% +263.4%
10 years, per year -12.0%-0.8%-5.0% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureDEICUZHIWSPY
Volatility, 1Y 30.9%27.1%29.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 30.8%28.8%32.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.620.590.55 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.790.30-0.04 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -75.1%-58.2%-62.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -24.3%-11.8%-15.1% -0.9%
52-week high $13.22$32.30$34.39 $779.14
52-week low $9.18$21.34$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.

MultipleDEICUZHIW
P/E now vs peer median -73.3xmedian 25.8x 730.0xmedian 25.8x 17.4xmedian 25.8x
P/S now vs peer median 1.7xmedian 4.0x 4.5xmedian 4.0x 3.8xmedian 4.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 30.5xmedian 14.2x 78.1xmedian 14.2x —median 14.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median -22.3xmedian 23.0x -12.7xmedian 23.0x -8.8xmedian 23.0x
P/B now vs peer median 0.5xmedian 1.3x 1.0xmedian 1.3x 1.3xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median 2.17median 1.91 -11.07median 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 monthsDEICUZHIW
Revenue $1.01B $1.03B $851.95M
Gross profit $636.52M $704.58M –
Operating income -$179.54M -$322.93M –
Net income -$55.59M $6.88M $193.92M
Free cash flow -$75.33M -$369.91M -$366.24M
EPS (diluted) $-0.14 $0.04 $1.65
Cash & equivalents $354.96M $6.70M $279.21M
Total debt $5.72B $3.73B $3.51B
Shares (diluted) 167.49M 165.29M 112.32M
Enterprise value $242.68M $4.77B $2.86B

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
MetricDEICUZHIW
P/E -73.3x 730.0x 17.4x
P/FCF -22.3x -12.7x -8.8x
P/Operating cash flow 4.3x 10.9x 8.5x
P/S 1.7x 4.5x 3.8x
P/B 0.5x 1.0x 1.3x
P/Tangible book 0.5x 1.0x 1.4x
EV/EBITDA 30.5x 78.1x –
EV/EBIT -39.2x -26.1x –
EV/Revenue 7.0x 8.1x 7.6x
EV/FCF -93.5x -22.8x -17.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 18.2x 19.5x 17.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.17 -11.07 1.85

Growth

14 metrics
MetricDEICUZHIW
Revenue growth (1Y) 0.8% 11.9% 5.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -0.2% 9.1% 0.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 0.5% 11.0% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -1.2% 10.2% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -4.6% -45.3% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -8.3% -21.9% –
Net income growth (1Y) -267.2% -88.7% 49.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -45.8% -64.2% 11.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -160.7% -89.1% 46.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -33.8% -65.9% 9.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -1.5% 4.4% 4.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -7.2% 5.4% -0.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -134.4% 47.5% -176.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -31.1% -98.0% -66.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricDEICUZHIW
Gross margin 63.2% 68.1% –
EBITDA margin 22.9% 10.4% –
Operating margin -17.8% -31.2% –
Pretax margin -45.0% -48.2% –
Net margin -2.3% 0.6% 21.7%
FCF margin -7.5% -35.7% -43.0%
Operating cash flow margin 38.3% 41.7% 44.5%
Return on equity -2.0% 0.2% 7.5%
Return on assets -0.7% 0.1% 3.0%
Return on invested capital – – –
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.1x 0.1x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -6.9x 62.8x 2.0x
Stock comp / revenue 2.1% 1.6% 1.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricDEICUZHIW
Debt / assets 59.9% 41.3% 54.5%
Debt / equity 1.6x 0.8x 1.4x
Net debt / EBITDA 23.3x 34.6x –
Debt / FCF -76.0x -10.1x -9.6x
Liabilities / assets 63.2% 50.3% 60.2%
Equity / assets 36.8% 49.7% 39.8%
Interest coverage -0.7x -1.8x –
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricDEICUZHIW
Dividend yield 7.6% 4.5% 6.8%
Net buyback yield – – -0.4%
Shareholder yield 7.6% 4.5% 6.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) -228.9% 3,132% 113.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) -169.0% -58.2% -60.1%
Dividend growth (1Y) 0.0% 4.8% 2.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -8.3% 3.2% 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.

ConsensusDEICUZHIW
Forward P/E – 135.7xFY2026 25.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.12FY2026 $0.21FY2026 $1.14FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -233.3%FY2026 -12.5%FY2026 -21.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +128.6% -36.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.09BFY2026 $1.04BFY2026 $908.60MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.1%FY2026 +5.6%FY2026 +12.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -6.2% +10.4% -8.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersDEICUZHIW
Held by institutions 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 283 393 371
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.5% +0.6% +10.9%
Institutions buying 171 200 214
Institutions selling 77 139 102
Buyers to sellers 2.22 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.

DEICUZHIW
DEI 1.00 0.70 0.68
CUZ 0.70 1.00 0.87
HIW 0.68 0.87 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, DEI, CUZ and HIW?

Cousins Properties (CUZ) is the largest by market capitalisation: Douglas Emmett (DEI) $1.70B, Cousins Properties (CUZ) $4.79B, Highwoods Properties (HIW) $3.34B.

Which stock is cheaper, DEI, CUZ and HIW?

Highwoods Properties (HIW) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Douglas Emmett (DEI) -74.5x, Cousins Properties (CUZ) 746.0x, Highwoods Properties (HIW) 18.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Highwoods Properties (HIW) is cheapest (Cousins Properties (CUZ) 135.7x, 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: Douglas Emmett (DEI) +0.8%, Cousins Properties (CUZ) +11.9%, Highwoods Properties (HIW) +5.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Highwoods Properties (HIW) has the highest net margin (Douglas Emmett (DEI) -2.3%, Cousins Properties (CUZ) 0.6%, Highwoods Properties (HIW) 21.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Cousins Properties (CUZ) returned the most: Douglas Emmett (DEI) -24.3%, Cousins Properties (CUZ) +8.2%, Highwoods Properties (HIW) -1.1%. Over five years, Cousins Properties (CUZ) compounded fastest (Douglas Emmett (DEI) -21.1%/yr, Cousins Properties (CUZ) -6.4%/yr, Highwoods Properties (HIW) -8.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Douglas Emmett (DEI) has the highest dividend yield: Douglas Emmett (DEI) 0.07%, Cousins Properties (CUZ) 0.04%, Highwoods Properties (HIW) 0.07%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cousins Properties (CUZ) has been the steadiest (Douglas Emmett (DEI) 30.9%, Cousins Properties (CUZ) 27.1%, Highwoods Properties (HIW) 29.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, DEI, CUZ 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, 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.