Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Buys New Stake in Cousins Properties Incorporated $CUZ

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 35,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,036,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 9.6% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 5,781 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 41,753 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,208,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,687 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,438,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 29.0% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,129 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Cousins Properties by 55.9% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 753 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.38% of the company’s stock.

Cousins Properties Price Performance

NYSE:CUZ opened at $22.76 on Friday. Cousins Properties Incorporated has a one year low of $21.03 and a one year high of $30.81. The stock has a market cap of $3.82 billion, a PE ratio of 94.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $24.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.12.

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

Cousins Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Monday, January 5th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 5th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Cousins Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 533.33%.

Cousins Properties declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 17th that permits the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the real estate investment trust to purchase up to 6.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CUZ shares. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Cousins Properties in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $33.00 target price on Cousins Properties in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Cousins Properties from $34.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Cousins Properties from $31.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cousins Properties currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.25.

Cousins Properties Profile

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.