ESRT vs MAA vs CUZ Stock Comparison

Empire State Realty Trust, Mid America Apartment Communities and Cousins 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
$4.69B
P/E
730.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.03B
Div. yield
0.05%
Office REITs Real Estate
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Mid America Apartment Communities leads on 9 of the 12 questions below (Mid America Apartment Communities 9, Cousins Properties 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionESRTMAACUZLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $856.05M $13.63B $4.69B MAA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 278.6x 34.1x 730.2x MAA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 33.3x 137.4x MAA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +2.0% +0.8% +11.9% CUZ
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 0.4% 18.0% 0.6% MAA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -1.1% 5.3% — MAA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.0x 4.5x 34.6x MAA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.03% 0.05% 0.05% MAA
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -36.8% -10.7% +8.0% CUZ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -12.8%/yr -10.5%/yr -6.3%/yr CUZ
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 36.6% 19.8% 27.1% MAA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 35/100 51/100 29/100 MAA

Percentile Scorecard

ESRTMAACUZ

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

AxisESRTMAACUZ
Valuation 78 #33 of 145 45 #80 of 145 30 #102 of 145
Growth 1 #139 of 141 15 #120 of 141 29 #101 of 141
Profitability 26 #99 of 134 87 #18 of 134 31 #93 of 134
Financial Health 57 #60 of 138 60 #56 of 138 37 #88 of 138
Shareholder Returns 13 #114 of 131 46 #71 of 131 19 #106 of 131
Overall 35 51 29
  • ESRT ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • MAA ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • CUZ ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodESRTMAACUZSPY
1 month +22.4%+0.3%+0.7% -0.2%
3 months -11.1%-12.5%-9.0% +3.9%
6 months -12.2%-8.9%+12.7% +8.2%
Year to date -22.9%-14.5%+11.9% +12.9%
1 year -36.8%-10.7%+8.0% +12.3%
3 years -37.3%+1.0%+61.4% +87.4%
3 years, per year -14.4%+0.3%+17.3% +23.3%
5 years -49.6%-42.4%-27.6% +67.9%
5 years, per year -12.8%-10.5%-6.3% +10.9%
10 years -74.0%+32.0%-6.2% +261.1%
10 years, per year -12.6%+2.8%-0.6% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureESRTMAACUZSPY
Volatility, 1Y 36.6%19.8%27.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 41.8%19.2%28.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.320.050.59 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -1.01-0.540.30 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -65.6%-50.2%-58.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -36.8%-16.5%-10.7% -1.2%
52-week high $7.96$142.19$32.30 $779.14
52-week low $3.93$114.20$21.34 $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.

MultipleESRTMAACUZ
P/E now vs peer median 280.0xmedian 26.3x 34.5xmedian 26.3x 739.2xmedian 26.3x
P/S now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 4.0x 6.2xmedian 4.0x 4.6xmedian 4.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.0xmedian 14.4x 15.3xmedian 14.4x 78.6xmedian 14.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median -2.0xmedian 23.3x 29.1xmedian 23.3x -12.8xmedian 23.3x
P/B now vs peer median 0.5xmedian 1.3x 2.5xmedian 1.3x 1.1xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median -4.68median 1.91 -2.82median 1.91 -11.21median 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 monthsESRTMAACUZ
Revenue $784.18M $2.22B $1.03B
Gross profit – – $704.58M
Operating income -$34.52M – -$322.93M
Net income $9.26M $410.71M $6.88M
Free cash flow -$437.31M $473.83M -$369.91M
EPS (diluted) $0.01 $3.44 $0.04
Cash & equivalents $85.61M $51.84M $6.70M
Total debt $4.54B $21.95B $3.73B
Shares (diluted) 268.95M 116.14M 165.29M
Enterprise value $414.86M $13.42B $4.67B

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
MetricESRTMAACUZ
P/E 280.0x 34.5x 739.2x
P/FCF -2.0x 29.1x -12.8x
P/Operating cash flow 3.8x 13.6x 11.0x
P/S 1.1x 6.2x 4.6x
P/B 0.5x 2.5x 1.1x
P/Tangible book 0.5x 2.5x 1.1x
EV/EBITDA 10.0x 15.3x 78.6x
EV/EBIT -50.2x 31.4x -26.2x
EV/Revenue 2.2x 8.8x 8.2x
EV/FCF -4.0x 41.0x -22.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 7.6x 19.2x 19.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -4.68 -2.82 -11.21

Growth

14 metrics
MetricESRTMAACUZ
Revenue growth (1Y) 2.0% 0.8% 11.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 2.9% 1.6% 9.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – 11.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – 10.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) -123.1% – -45.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -31.0% – -21.9%
Net income growth (1Y) -86.5% -30.0% -88.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -51.3% -12.5% -64.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -92.4% -29.0% -89.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -59.8% -12.2% -65.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -13.3% -8.0% 4.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -0.8% -4.2% 5.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -169.4% -12.0% 47.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -149.9% -4.5% -98.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricESRTMAACUZ
Gross margin – – 68.1%
EBITDA margin 22.1% 57.1% 10.4%
Operating margin -4.4% – -31.2%
Pretax margin 1.3% 18.8% -48.2%
Net margin 0.4% 18.0% 0.6%
FCF margin -55.8% 21.4% -35.7%
Operating cash flow margin 29.0% 45.6% 41.7%
Return on equity 0.5% 7.3% 0.2%
Return on assets 0.2% 3.4% 0.1%
Return on invested capital -1.1% 5.3% –
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.2x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 24.6x 2.5x 62.8x
Stock comp / revenue 3.9% 0.9% 1.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricESRTMAACUZ
Debt / assets 22.4% 47.5% 41.3%
Debt / equity 0.5x 1.0x 0.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.0x 4.5x 34.6x
Debt / FCF -2.2x 12.0x -10.1x
Liabilities / assets 58.1% 53.5% 50.3%
Equity / assets 41.9% 46.5% 49.7%
Interest coverage -0.3x 3.1x -1.8x
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricESRTMAACUZ
Dividend yield 3.1% 5.2% 4.4%
Net buyback yield – 0.9% –
Shareholder yield 3.1% 6.0% 4.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) 259.1% 173.3% 3,132%
Payout ratio (FCF) -5.5% 150.2% -58.2%
Dividend growth (1Y) 2.2% 2.0% 4.8%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 1.9% 5.1% 3.2%

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.

ConsensusESRTMAACUZ
Forward P/E – 33.3xFY2026 137.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.35FY2027 $3.57FY2026 $0.21FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -240.0%FY2027 -5.6%FY2026 -12.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – -9.0% +128.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $758.24MFY2026 $2.29BFY2026 $1.04BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -1.3%FY2026 +3.8%FY2026 +5.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.5% +1.5% +10.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersESRTMAACUZ
Held by institutions 83.6% 97.1% 100.0%
Institutions holding 228 771 393
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.4% +8.2% +0.6%
Institutions buying 141 395 200
Institutions selling 51 262 139
Buyers to sellers 2.76 1.51 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.

ESRTMAACUZ
ESRT 1.00 0.29 0.48
MAA 0.29 1.00 0.47
CUZ 0.48 0.47 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ESRT, MAA and CUZ?

Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) $856.05M, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) $13.63B, Cousins Properties (CUZ) $4.69B.

Which stock is cheaper, ESRT, MAA and CUZ?

Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) 278.6x, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) 34.1x, Cousins Properties (CUZ) 730.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) is cheapest (Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) 33.3x, Cousins Properties (CUZ) 137.4x). 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: Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) +2.0%, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) +0.8%, Cousins Properties (CUZ) +11.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) has the highest net margin (Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) 0.4%, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) 18.0%, Cousins Properties (CUZ) 0.6%). On return on invested capital, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) leads (Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) -1.1%, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) 5.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Cousins Properties (CUZ) returned the most: Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) -36.8%, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) -10.7%, Cousins Properties (CUZ) +8.0%. Over five years, Cousins Properties (CUZ) compounded fastest (Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) -12.8%/yr, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) -10.5%/yr, Cousins Properties (CUZ) -6.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) has the highest dividend yield: Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) 0.03%, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) 0.05%, Cousins Properties (CUZ) 0.05%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) has been the steadiest (Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) 36.6%, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) 19.8%, Cousins Properties (CUZ) 27.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ESRT, MAA and CUZ?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) 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.