HIW vs CUZ vs ARE Stock Comparison

Highwoods Properties, Cousins Properties and Alexandria Real Estate Equities Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CUZ Cousins Properties Inc
$28.50 +1.5% 1M +8.2% 1Y
Market cap
$4.69B
P/E
730.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.03B
Div. yield
4.49%
Office REITs Real Estate
4 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Cousins Properties leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Cousins Properties 4, Alexandria Real Estate Equities 3, Highwoods Properties 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionHIWCUZARELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.22B $4.69B $6.95B ARE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 17.4x 730.0x -4.7x HIW
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.6x 135.7x 25.6x ARE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.4% +11.9% -9.9% CUZ
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 21.7% 0.6% -52.0% HIW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 34.6x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 6.85% 4.49% 7.22% ARE
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -1.1% +8.2% -36.6% CUZ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -8.2%/yr -6.4%/yr -27.9%/yr CUZ
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 29.4% 27.1% 45.6% CUZ
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 48/100 29/100 39/100 HIW

Percentile Scorecard

HIWCUZARE

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

AxisHIWCUZARE
Valuation 54 #67 of 145 29 #103 of 145 75 #37 of 145
Growth 36 #91 of 142 28 #102 of 142 7 #132 of 142
Profitability 61 #53 of 135 31 #94 of 135 14 #116 of 135
Financial Health 31 #94 of 136 37 #86 of 136 73 #38 of 136
Shareholder Returns 58 #56 of 131 19 #107 of 131 29 #94 of 131
Overall 48 29 39
  • HIW ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • CUZ ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • ARE ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodHIWCUZARESPY
1 month -0.6%+1.5%-18.0% +0.9%
3 months -15.1%-11.8%-25.8% +5.9%
6 months +23.1%+13.7%-2.8% +8.5%
Year to date +13.1%+10.6%-18.5% +13.3%
1 year -1.1%+8.2%-36.6% +12.4%
3 years +64.1%+59.4%-56.5% +88.1%
3 years, per year +18.0%+16.8%-24.2% +23.5%
5 years -34.9%-28.0%-80.4% +68.2%
5 years, per year -8.2%-6.4%-27.9% +11.0%
10 years -40.2%-7.8%-62.0% +263.4%
10 years, per year -5.0%-0.8%-9.2% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureHIWCUZARESPY
Volatility, 1Y 29.4%27.1%45.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 32.1%28.8%48.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.550.590.76 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.040.30-0.80 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -62.9%-58.2%-82.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -15.1%-11.8%-36.6% -0.9%
52-week high $34.39$32.30$62.94 $779.14
52-week low $20.58$21.34$39.91 $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.

MultipleHIWCUZARE
P/E now vs peer median 17.4xmedian 25.8x 730.0xmedian 25.8x -4.7xmedian 25.8x
P/S now vs peer median 3.8xmedian 4.0x 4.5xmedian 4.0x 2.5xmedian 4.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 14.2x 78.1xmedian 14.2x —median 14.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median -8.8xmedian 23.0x -12.7xmedian 23.0x -14.7xmedian 23.0x
P/B now vs peer median 1.3xmedian 1.3x 1.0xmedian 1.3x 0.4xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median 1.85median 1.91 -11.07median 1.91 0.05median 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 monthsHIWCUZARE
Revenue $851.95M $1.03B $2.76B
Gross profit – $704.58M –
Operating income – -$322.93M –
Net income $193.92M $6.88M -$1.39B
Free cash flow -$366.24M -$369.91M -$473.23M
EPS (diluted) $1.65 $0.04 $-8.40
Cash & equivalents $279.21M $6.70M $508.86M
Total debt $3.51B $3.73B $12.90B
Shares (diluted) 112.32M 165.29M 170.75M
Enterprise value $2.93B $4.68B $2.96B

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
MetricHIWCUZARE
P/E 17.4x 730.0x -4.7x
P/FCF -8.8x -12.7x -14.7x
P/Operating cash flow 8.5x 10.9x 5.9x
P/S 3.8x 4.5x 2.5x
P/B 1.3x 1.0x 0.4x
P/Tangible book 1.4x 1.0x 0.4x
EV/EBITDA – 78.1x –
EV/EBIT – -26.1x –
EV/Revenue 7.6x 8.1x 6.4x
EV/FCF -17.6x -22.8x -37.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.0x 19.5x 14.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.85 -11.07 0.05

Growth

14 metrics
MetricHIWCUZARE
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.4% 11.9% -9.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 0.5% 9.1% -0.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 11.0% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 10.2% –
Operating income growth (1Y) – -45.3% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – -21.9% –
Net income growth (1Y) 49.5% -88.7% -339.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 11.2% -64.2% -74.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 46.0% -89.1% -239.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 9.4% -65.9% -100.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 4.5% 4.4% -13.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -0.6% 5.4% -9.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -176.2% 47.5% 33.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -66.8% -98.0% 43.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricHIWCUZARE
Gross margin – 68.1% –
EBITDA margin – 10.4% –
Operating margin – -31.2% –
Pretax margin – -48.2% –
Net margin 21.7% 0.6% -52.0%
FCF margin -43.0% -35.7% -17.1%
Operating cash flow margin 44.5% 41.7% 43.0%
Return on equity 7.5% 0.2% -6.6%
Return on assets 3.0% 0.1% -3.6%
Return on invested capital – – –
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.1x 0.1x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.0x 62.8x -0.9x
Stock comp / revenue 1.1% 1.6% 1.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricHIWCUZARE
Debt / assets 54.5% 41.3% 37.9%
Debt / equity 1.4x 0.8x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA – 34.6x –
Debt / FCF -9.6x -10.1x -27.3x
Liabilities / assets 60.2% 50.3% 45.9%
Equity / assets 39.8% 49.7% 54.1%
Interest coverage – -1.8x –
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricHIWCUZARE
Dividend yield 6.8% 4.5% 7.2%
Net buyback yield -0.4% – –
Shareholder yield 6.5% 4.5% 7.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) 113.6% 3,132% -43.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) -60.1% -58.2% -126.5%
Dividend growth (1Y) 2.3% 4.8% -34.4%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 1.5% 3.2% -10.2%

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.

ConsensusHIWCUZARE
Forward P/E 25.6xFY2026 135.7xFY2026 25.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.14FY2026 $0.21FY2026 $1.56FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -21.4%FY2026 -12.5%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after -36.0% +128.6% -150.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $908.60MFY2026 $1.04BFY2026 $2.71BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +12.7%FY2026 +5.6%FY2026 -8.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -8.1% +10.4% -13.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersHIWCUZARE
Held by institutions 100.0% 100.0% 97.2%
Institutions holding 371 393 595
Change in shares held, QoQ +10.9% +0.6% +14.1%
Institutions buying 214 200 336
Institutions selling 102 139 191
Buyers to sellers 2.10 1.44 1.76

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.

HIWCUZARE
HIW 1.00 0.87 0.46
CUZ 0.87 1.00 0.54
ARE 0.46 0.54 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, HIW, CUZ and ARE?

Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE) is the largest by market capitalisation: Highwoods Properties (HIW) $3.22B, Cousins Properties (CUZ) $4.69B, Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE) $6.95B.

Which stock is cheaper, HIW, CUZ and ARE?

Highwoods Properties (HIW) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Highwoods Properties (HIW) 17.4x, Cousins Properties (CUZ) 730.0x, Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE) -4.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE) is cheapest (Highwoods Properties (HIW) 25.6x, Cousins Properties (CUZ) 135.7x, Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE) 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: Highwoods Properties (HIW) +5.4%, Cousins Properties (CUZ) +11.9%, Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE) -9.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Highwoods Properties (HIW) has the highest net margin (Highwoods Properties (HIW) 21.7%, Cousins Properties (CUZ) 0.6%, Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE) -52.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Cousins Properties (CUZ) returned the most: Highwoods Properties (HIW) -1.1%, Cousins Properties (CUZ) +8.2%, Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE) -36.6%. Over five years, Cousins Properties (CUZ) compounded fastest (Highwoods Properties (HIW) -8.2%/yr, Cousins Properties (CUZ) -6.4%/yr, Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE) -27.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE) has the highest dividend yield: Highwoods Properties (HIW) 6.85%, Cousins Properties (CUZ) 4.49%, Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE) 7.22%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cousins Properties (CUZ) has been the steadiest (Highwoods Properties (HIW) 29.4%, Cousins Properties (CUZ) 27.1%, Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE) 45.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 4. 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.