Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $28.14.

CUZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Cousins Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Cousins Properties in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Cousins Properties from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Cousins Properties from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Cousins Properties from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th.

Cousins Properties Price Performance

Shares of CUZ stock opened at $29.45 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Cousins Properties has a twelve month low of $17.40 and a twelve month high of $29.50. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.31.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.61). The business had revenue of $212.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $208.18 million. Cousins Properties had a return on equity of 1.31% and a net margin of 7.25%. Cousins Properties’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.75 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Cousins Properties will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 3rd. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.35%. Cousins Properties’s payout ratio is 261.22%.

Insider Activity at Cousins Properties

In other news, CAO Jeffrey D. Symes sold 5,997 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.13, for a total transaction of $168,695.61. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $352,440.77. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cousins Properties

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 0.6% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 88,588 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,128,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in Cousins Properties by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 190,589 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,582,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 2.2% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 23,534 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $545,000 after buying an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 67,107 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,634,000 after buying an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 5.1% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 15,952 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. 94.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Cousins Properties

Cousins Properties Incorporated ("Cousins") is a fully integrated, self-administered, and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company, based in Atlanta and acting through its operating partnership, Cousins Properties LP, primarily invests in Class A office buildings located in high-growth Sun Belt markets.