ESRT vs HIW vs JBGS Stock Comparison

Empire State Realty Trust, Highwoods Properties and JBG SMITH Properties Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
JBGS JBG SMITH Properties
$11.56 +13.4% 1M -45.9% 1Y
Market cap
$701.45M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$508.41M
Div. yield
0.06%
Office REITs Real Estate

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Highwoods Properties leads on 9 of the 12 questions below (Highwoods Properties 9, Empire State Realty Trust 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionESRTHIWJBGSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $862.89M $3.35B $701.45M HIW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 280.8x 18.1x -4.6x HIW
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 25.6x — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +2.0% +5.4% -1.1% HIW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 0.4% 21.7% -30.3% HIW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -1.1% — -1.3% ESRT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.0x — 16.9x ESRT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.03% 0.07% 0.06% HIW
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -36.1% -1.1% -45.9% HIW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -12.5%/yr -8.2%/yr -16.7%/yr HIW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 36.5% 29.4% 34.7% HIW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 35/100 48/100 25/100 HIW

Percentile Scorecard

ESRTHIWJBGS

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

AxisESRTHIWJBGS
Valuation 78 #33 of 145 54 #67 of 145 33 #97 of 145
Growth 1 #140 of 142 36 #91 of 142 12 #125 of 142
Profitability 25 #101 of 135 61 #53 of 135 4 #130 of 135
Financial Health 57 #59 of 136 31 #94 of 136 11 #121 of 136
Shareholder Returns 12 #115 of 131 58 #56 of 131 62 #50 of 131
Overall 35 48 25
  • ESRT ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • HIW ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • JBGS ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodESRTHIWJBGSSPY
1 month +22.7%-0.6%+13.4% +0.9%
3 months -14.3%-15.1%-20.4% +5.9%
6 months -11.4%+23.1%-22.5% +8.5%
Year to date -23.6%+13.1%-32.0% +13.3%
1 year -36.1%-1.1%-45.9% +12.4%
3 years -37.9%+64.1%-10.0% +88.1%
3 years, per year -14.7%+18.0%-3.4% +23.5%
5 years -48.6%-34.9%-59.9% +68.2%
5 years, per year -12.5%-8.2%-16.7% +11.0%
10 years -74.0%-40.2%— +263.4%
10 years, per year -12.6%-5.0%— +13.8%

Risk

MeasureESRTHIWJBGSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 36.5%29.4%34.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 41.7%32.1%40.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.320.550.17 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.99-0.04-1.32 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -65.6%-62.9%-67.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -36.1%-15.1%-45.9% -0.9%
52-week high $7.79$34.39$21.35 $779.14
52-week low $3.93$20.58$10.05 $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.

MultipleESRTHIWJBGS
P/E now vs peer median 277.2xmedian 25.8x 17.4xmedian 25.8x -4.4xmedian 25.8x
P/S now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 4.0x 3.8xmedian 4.0x 1.7xmedian 4.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.9xmedian 14.2x —median 14.2x 22.8xmedian 14.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median -2.0xmedian 23.0x -8.8xmedian 23.0x -13.0xmedian 23.0x
P/B now vs peer median 0.5xmedian 1.3x 1.3xmedian 1.3x 0.8xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median -4.63median 1.91 1.85median 1.91 0.04median 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 monthsESRTHIWJBGS
Revenue $784.18M $851.95M $508.41M
Operating income -$34.52M – –
Net income $9.26M $193.92M -$186.68M
Free cash flow -$437.31M -$366.24M -$66.16M
EPS (diluted) $0.01 $1.65 $-2.64
Cash & equivalents $85.61M $279.21M $74.80M
Total debt $4.54B $3.51B $10.02B
Shares (diluted) 268.95M 112.32M 58.28M
Enterprise value $421.70M $2.86B $407.16M

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
MetricESRTHIWJBGS
P/E 277.2x 17.4x -4.4x
P/FCF -2.0x -8.8x -13.0x
P/Operating cash flow 3.8x 8.5x 14.2x
P/S 1.1x 3.8x 1.7x
P/B 0.5x 1.3x 0.8x
P/Tangible book 0.5x 1.4x 0.8x
EV/EBITDA 9.9x – 22.8x
EV/EBIT -50.0x – -70.0x
EV/Revenue 2.2x 7.6x 6.5x
EV/FCF -3.9x -17.6x -50.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 7.6x 17.0x 54.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -4.63 1.85 0.04

Growth

14 metrics
MetricESRTHIWJBGS
Revenue growth (1Y) 2.0% 5.4% -1.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 2.9% 0.5% -5.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) -123.1% – –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -31.0% – –
Net income growth (1Y) -86.5% 49.5% -4.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -51.3% 11.2% -83.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -92.4% 46.0% -17.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -59.8% 9.4% -113.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -13.3% 4.5% -39.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -0.8% -0.6% -27.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -169.4% -176.2% 42.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -149.9% -66.8% 40.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricESRTHIWJBGS
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 22.1% – 28.6%
Operating margin -4.4% – –
Pretax margin 1.3% – -37.4%
Net margin 0.4% 21.7% -30.3%
FCF margin -55.8% -43.0% -13.0%
Operating cash flow margin 29.0% 44.5% 11.9%
Return on equity 0.5% 7.5% -16.8%
Return on assets 0.2% 3.0% -4.3%
Return on invested capital -1.1% – -1.3%
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.1x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 24.6x 2.0x -0.3x
Stock comp / revenue 3.9% 1.1% 5.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricESRTHIWJBGS
Debt / assets 22.4% 54.5% 59.4%
Debt / equity 0.5x 1.4x 2.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.0x – 16.9x
Debt / FCF -2.2x -9.6x -38.2x
Liabilities / assets 58.1% 60.2% 74.7%
Equity / assets 41.9% 39.8% 25.3%
Interest coverage -0.3x – -0.3x
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricESRTHIWJBGS
Dividend yield 3.1% 6.8% 6.0%
Net buyback yield – -0.4% 11.4%
Shareholder yield 3.1% 6.5% 17.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) 259.1% 113.6% -22.4%
Payout ratio (FCF) -5.5% -60.1% -63.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) 2.2% 2.3% -26.6%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 1.9% 1.5% -25.4%

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.

ConsensusESRTHIWJBGS
Forward P/E – 25.6xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.35FY2027 $1.14FY2026 $-2.03FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -240.0%FY2027 -21.4%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after – -36.0% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $758.24MFY2026 $908.60MFY2026 $453.74MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -1.3%FY2026 +12.7%FY2026 -9.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.5% -8.1% +11.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersESRTHIWJBGS
Held by institutions 83.6% 100.0% 97.6%
Institutions holding 228 371 206
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.4% +10.9% +2.8%
Institutions buying 141 214 86
Institutions selling 51 102 72
Buyers to sellers 2.76 2.10 1.19

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.

ESRTHIWJBGS
ESRT 1.00 0.49 0.43
HIW 0.49 1.00 0.47
JBGS 0.43 0.47 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ESRT, HIW and JBGS?

Highwoods Properties (HIW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) $862.89M, Highwoods Properties (HIW) $3.35B, JBG SMITH Properties (JBGS) $701.45M.

Which stock is cheaper, ESRT, HIW and JBGS?

Highwoods Properties (HIW) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) 280.8x, Highwoods Properties (HIW) 18.1x, JBG SMITH Properties (JBGS) -4.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Highwoods Properties (HIW) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) +2.0%, Highwoods Properties (HIW) +5.4%, JBG SMITH Properties (JBGS) -1.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Highwoods Properties (HIW) has the highest net margin (Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) 0.4%, Highwoods Properties (HIW) 21.7%, JBG SMITH Properties (JBGS) -30.3%). On return on invested capital, Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) leads (Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) -1.1%, JBG SMITH Properties (JBGS) -1.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Highwoods Properties (HIW) returned the most: Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) -36.1%, Highwoods Properties (HIW) -1.1%, JBG SMITH Properties (JBGS) -45.9%. Over five years, Highwoods Properties (HIW) compounded fastest (Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) -12.5%/yr, Highwoods Properties (HIW) -8.2%/yr, JBG SMITH Properties (JBGS) -16.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Highwoods Properties (HIW) has the highest dividend yield: Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) 0.03%, Highwoods Properties (HIW) 0.07%, JBG SMITH Properties (JBGS) 0.06%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Highwoods Properties (HIW) has been the steadiest (Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) 36.5%, Highwoods Properties (HIW) 29.4%, JBG SMITH Properties (JBGS) 34.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ESRT, HIW and JBGS?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Highwoods Properties (HIW) leads on 9. 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.