ESRT vs HIW vs SLG Stock Comparison

Empire State Realty Trust, Highwoods Properties and Sl Green Realty Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
SLG Sl Green Realty Corp
$49.47 -3.0% 1M -6.2% 1Y
Market cap
$3.44B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$1.07B
Div. yield
–
Office REITs Real Estate
4 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

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

QuestionESRTHIWSLGLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $848.35M $3.22B $3.44B SLG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 276.1x 17.4x -24.0x HIW
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 26.2x — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +2.0% +5.4% +9.7% SLG
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 0.4% 21.7% — HIW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -1.1% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.0x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.03% 0.07% 0.00% HIW
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -36.8% +0.9% -6.2% HIW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -12.8%/yr -8.1%/yr -7.4%/yr SLG
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 36.6% 29.3% 38.2% HIW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 35/100 49/100 49/100 SLG

Percentile Scorecard

ESRTHIWSLG

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

AxisESRTHIWSLG
Valuation 78 #33 of 145 55 #66 of 145 49 #75 of 145
Growth 1 #139 of 141 36 #90 of 141 40 #85 of 141
Profitability 26 #99 of 134 63 #50 of 134 –
Financial Health 57 #60 of 138 31 #96 of 138 –
Shareholder Returns 13 #114 of 131 58 #56 of 131 59 #54 of 131
Overall 35 49 49
  • ESRT ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • HIW ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • SLG ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodESRTHIWSLGSPY
1 month +22.4%-0.9%-3.0% -0.2%
3 months -11.1%-11.3%-6.8% +3.9%
6 months -12.2%+19.7%+12.8% +8.2%
Year to date -22.9%+15.5%+7.8% +12.9%
1 year -36.8%+0.9%-6.2% +12.3%
3 years -37.3%+67.6%+69.1% +87.4%
3 years, per year -14.4%+18.8%+19.2% +23.3%
5 years -49.6%-34.3%-31.7% +67.9%
5 years, per year -12.8%-8.1%-7.4% +10.9%
10 years -74.0%-39.0%-51.8% +261.1%
10 years, per year -12.6%-4.8%-7.0% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureESRTHIWSLGSPY
Volatility, 1Y 36.6%29.3%38.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 41.8%32.0%38.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.320.550.93 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -1.010.03-0.16 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -65.6%-62.9%-76.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -36.8%-13.3%-17.3% -1.2%
52-week high $7.96$34.39$59.83 $779.14
52-week low $3.93$20.58$35.33 $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.

MultipleESRTHIWSLG
P/E now vs peer median 280.0xmedian 26.3x 17.8xmedian 26.3x -24.4xmedian 26.3x
P/S now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 4.0x 3.9xmedian 4.0x 3.3xmedian 4.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.0xmedian 14.4x —median 14.4x —median 14.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median -2.0xmedian 23.3x -9.0xmedian 23.3x -3.5xmedian 23.3x
P/B now vs peer median 0.5xmedian 1.3x 1.3xmedian 1.3x 0.9xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median -4.68median 1.91 1.89median 1.91 -0.71median 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 monthsESRTHIWSLG
Revenue $784.18M $851.95M $1.07B
Operating income -$34.52M – –
Net income $9.26M $193.92M –
Free cash flow -$437.31M -$366.24M –
EPS (diluted) $0.01 $1.65 $-2.03
Cash & equivalents $85.61M $279.21M $186.44M
Total debt $4.54B $3.51B –
Shares (diluted) 268.95M 112.32M 70.67M
Enterprise value $407.16M $2.74B $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
MetricESRTHIWSLG
P/E 280.0x 17.8x -24.4x
P/FCF -2.0x -9.0x -3.5x
P/Operating cash flow 3.8x 8.7x –
P/S 1.1x 3.9x 3.3x
P/B 0.5x 1.3x 0.9x
P/Tangible book 0.5x 1.4x 1.2x
EV/EBITDA 10.0x – –
EV/EBIT -50.2x – –
EV/Revenue 2.2x 7.7x 3.3x
EV/FCF -4.0x -17.8x –
EV/Operating cash flow 7.6x 17.2x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -4.68 1.89 -0.71

Growth

14 metrics
MetricESRTHIWSLG
Revenue growth (1Y) 2.0% 5.4% 9.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 2.9% 0.5% 1.5%
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% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) -51.3% 11.2% –
EPS growth (1Y) -92.4% 46.0% -7,085%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -59.8% 9.4% 34.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -13.3% 4.5% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -0.8% -0.6% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -169.4% -176.2% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -149.9% -66.8% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricESRTHIWSLG
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 22.1% – –
Operating margin -4.4% – –
Pretax margin 1.3% – –
Net margin 0.4% 21.7% –
FCF margin -55.8% -43.0% –
Operating cash flow margin 29.0% 44.5% –
Return on equity 0.5% 7.5% -2.6%
Return on assets 0.2% 3.0% –
Return on invested capital -1.1% – –
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.1x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 24.6x 2.0x –
Stock comp / revenue 3.9% 1.1% –

Financial Health

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

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricESRTHIWSLG
Dividend yield 3.1% 6.7% 4.8%
Net buyback yield – -0.4% –
Shareholder yield 3.1% 6.3% 4.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) 259.1% 113.6% –
Payout ratio (FCF) -5.5% -60.1% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 2.2% 2.3% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 1.9% 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.

ConsensusESRTHIWSLG
Forward P/E – 26.2xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.35FY2027 $1.14FY2026 $-0.75FY2026
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 $640.65MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -1.3%FY2026 +12.7%FY2026 +6.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.5% -8.1% +6.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersESRTHIWSLG
Held by institutions 83.6% 100.0% 99.3%
Institutions holding 228 371 355
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.4% +10.9% +0.0%
Institutions buying 141 214 185
Institutions selling 51 102 118
Buyers to sellers 2.76 2.10 1.57

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.

ESRTHIWSLG
ESRT 1.00 0.48 0.44
HIW 0.48 1.00 0.73
SLG 0.44 0.73 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ESRT, HIW and SLG?

Sl Green Realty (SLG) is the largest by market capitalisation: Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) $848.35M, Highwoods Properties (HIW) $3.22B, Sl Green Realty (SLG) $3.44B.

Which stock is cheaper, ESRT, HIW and SLG?

Highwoods Properties (HIW) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) 276.1x, Highwoods Properties (HIW) 17.4x, Sl Green Realty (SLG) -24.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Sl Green Realty (SLG) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) +2.0%, Highwoods Properties (HIW) +5.4%, Sl Green Realty (SLG) +9.7%.

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%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Highwoods Properties (HIW) returned the most: Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) -36.8%, Highwoods Properties (HIW) +0.9%, Sl Green Realty (SLG) -6.2%. Over five years, Sl Green Realty (SLG) compounded fastest (Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) -12.8%/yr, Highwoods Properties (HIW) -8.1%/yr, Sl Green Realty (SLG) -7.4%/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%, Sl Green Realty (SLG) 0.00%. Sl Green Realty (SLG) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Highwoods Properties (HIW) has been the steadiest (Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) 36.6%, Highwoods Properties (HIW) 29.3%, Sl Green Realty (SLG) 38.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 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.