HIW vs CUZ Stock Comparison

Highwoods Properties and Cousins Properties Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CUZ Cousins Properties Inc
$29.18 +1.8% 1M +9.7% 1Y
Market cap
$4.77B
P/E
742.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.03B
Div. yield
0.05%
Office REITs Real Estate
5 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

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

QuestionHIWCUZLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.32B $4.77B CUZ
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 19.9x 742.5x HIW
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 26.7x 139.0x HIW
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +3.0% +11.9% CUZ
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 19.9% 0.6% HIW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 34.6x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.07% 0.05% HIW
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +2.3% +9.7% CUZ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -7.5%/yr -5.8%/yr CUZ
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 29.3% 27.1% CUZ
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 40/100 28/100 HIW

Percentile Scorecard

HIWCUZ

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

AxisHIWCUZ
Valuation 41 #86 of 145 26 #108 of 145
Growth 23 #109 of 142 29 #101 of 142
Profitability 56 #61 of 136 30 #96 of 136
Financial Health 32 #95 of 139 38 #87 of 139
Shareholder Returns 48 #69 of 131 19 #106 of 131
Overall 40 28
  • HIW 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

PeriodHIWCUZSPY
1 month +1.1%+1.8% -0.8%
3 months -10.2%-9.0% +3.5%
6 months +26.3%+16.3% +7.0%
Year to date +17.8%+13.2% +12.2%
1 year +2.3%+9.7% +13.0%
3 years +70.8%+63.2% +86.3%
3 years, per year +19.6%+17.7% +23.1%
5 years -32.2%-25.8% +68.6%
5 years, per year -7.5%-5.8% +11.0%
10 years -38.4%-5.1% +258.0%
10 years, per year -4.7%-0.5% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureHIWCUZSPY
Volatility, 1Y 29.3%27.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 32.0%28.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.560.59 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.080.36 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -62.9%-58.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.6%-9.7% -1.8%
52-week high $34.39$32.30 $779.14
52-week low $20.58$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.

MultipleHIWCUZ
P/E now vs peer median 20.2xmedian 27.4x 747.4xmedian 27.4x
P/S now vs peer median 4.0xmedian 4.2x 4.6xmedian 4.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 14.2x 79.1xmedian 14.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median -7.2xmedian 23.2x -13.0xmedian 23.2x
P/B now vs peer median 1.3xmedian 1.3x 1.1xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median 12.01median 2.11 -11.34median 2.11

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 monthsHIWCUZ
Revenue $835.54M $1.03B
Gross profit – $704.58M
Operating income – -$322.93M
Net income $173.55M $6.88M
Free cash flow -$462.85M -$369.91M
EPS (diluted) $1.48 $0.04
Cash & equivalents $145.38M $6.70M
Total debt $3.52B $3.73B
Shares (diluted) 112.30M 165.29M
Enterprise value $3.09B $4.75B

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
MetricHIWCUZ
P/E 20.2x 747.4x
P/FCF -7.2x -13.0x
P/Operating cash flow 8.7x 11.1x
P/S 4.0x 4.6x
P/B 1.3x 1.1x
P/Tangible book 1.5x 1.1x
EV/EBITDA – 79.1x
EV/EBIT – -26.4x
EV/Revenue 8.0x 8.2x
EV/FCF -14.5x -23.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.5x 19.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 12.01 -11.34

Growth

14 metrics
MetricHIWCUZ
Revenue growth (1Y) 3.0% 11.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -0.1% 9.1%
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) 32.0% -88.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 3.2% -64.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 28.7% -89.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 1.7% -65.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 5.6% 4.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -1.4% 5.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -4,099% 47.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -103.2% -98.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricHIWCUZ
Gross margin – 68.1%
EBITDA margin – 10.4%
Operating margin – -31.2%
Pretax margin – -48.2%
Net margin 19.9% 0.6%
FCF margin -55.4% -35.7%
Operating cash flow margin 46.0% 41.7%
Return on equity 6.7% 0.2%
Return on assets 2.7% 0.1%
Return on invested capital – –
Return on capital employed – –
Asset turnover 0.1x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.2x 62.8x
Stock comp / revenue 1.1% 1.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricHIWCUZ
Debt / assets 54.3% 41.3%
Debt / equity 1.4x 0.8x
Net debt / EBITDA – 34.6x
Debt / FCF -7.6x -10.1x
Liabilities / assets 60.0% 50.3%
Equity / assets 40.0% 49.7%
Interest coverage – -1.8x
Current ratio – –
Quick ratio – –
Cash ratio – –
Altman Z-score – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricHIWCUZ
Dividend yield 6.6% 4.4%
Net buyback yield -1.8% –
Shareholder yield 4.7% 4.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) 126.2% 3,132%
Payout ratio (FCF) -47.3% -58.2%
Dividend growth (1Y) 2.3% 4.8%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 1.3% 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.

ConsensusHIWCUZ
Forward P/E 26.7xFY2026 139.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.14FY2026 $0.21FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -21.4%FY2026 -12.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -36.0% +128.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $908.60MFY2026 $1.04BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +12.7%FY2026 +5.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -8.1% +10.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersHIWCUZ
Held by institutions 100.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 371 393
Change in shares held, QoQ +10.9% +0.6%
Institutions buying 214 200
Institutions selling 102 139
Buyers to sellers 2.10 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.

HIWCUZ
HIW 1.00 0.87
CUZ 0.87 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, HIW and CUZ?

Cousins Properties (CUZ) is the largest by market capitalisation: Highwoods Properties (HIW) $3.32B, Cousins Properties (CUZ) $4.77B.

Which stock is cheaper, HIW and CUZ?

Highwoods Properties (HIW) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Highwoods Properties (HIW) 19.9x, Cousins Properties (CUZ) 742.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Highwoods Properties (HIW) is cheapest (Highwoods Properties (HIW) 26.7x, Cousins Properties (CUZ) 139.0x). 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) +3.0%, Cousins Properties (CUZ) +11.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Highwoods Properties (HIW) has the highest net margin (Highwoods Properties (HIW) 19.9%, Cousins Properties (CUZ) 0.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Cousins Properties (CUZ) returned the most: Highwoods Properties (HIW) +2.3%, Cousins Properties (CUZ) +9.7%. Over five years, Cousins Properties (CUZ) compounded fastest (Highwoods Properties (HIW) -7.5%/yr, Cousins Properties (CUZ) -5.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Highwoods Properties (HIW) has the highest dividend yield: Highwoods Properties (HIW) 0.07%, Cousins Properties (CUZ) 0.05%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cousins Properties (CUZ) has been the steadiest (Highwoods Properties (HIW) 29.3%, Cousins Properties (CUZ) 27.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do HIW and CUZ move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.87, a strong positive relationship. Holding both adds little diversification.

Which is the better stock, HIW 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, 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.