Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $30.50.

CUZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cousins Properties in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $28.00 target price on shares of Cousins Properties in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Mizuho set a $29.00 price target on Cousins Properties and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Wall Street Zen cut Cousins Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 1st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cousins Properties

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. B&I Capital AG bought a new stake in shares of Cousins Properties during the second quarter worth $6,305,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Cousins Properties in the third quarter worth about $3,501,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in Cousins Properties by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 185,532 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,572,000 after purchasing an additional 1,779 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Cousins Properties in the 2nd quarter valued at about $620,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 21.3% in the 2nd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 26,144 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $785,000 after purchasing an additional 4,593 shares during the last quarter. 94.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cousins Properties Price Performance

Cousins Properties stock opened at $23.94 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a PE ratio of 99.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.21. Cousins Properties has a one year low of $21.03 and a one year high of $30.81.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71. The firm had revenue of $255.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $252.18 million. Cousins Properties had a return on equity of 0.85% and a net margin of 4.08%.The business’s revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.69 earnings per share. Cousins Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.870-2.970 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cousins Properties will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cousins Properties declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to reacquire up to 6.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Monday, January 5th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 5th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. Cousins Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 533.33%.

About Cousins Properties

Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE: CUZ) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in the development, acquisition and management of high-quality office and mixed-use properties. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company focuses on urban infill and suburban markets across the Sun Belt, with a strong presence in metropolitan areas such as Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Nashville, Orlando and Tampa. Its core activities encompass full-service property leasing, asset management and construction oversight, serving a diverse mix of corporate and institutional tenants.

Founded in 1958 as a privately held real estate concern, Cousins Properties completed its initial public offering in 1992.