Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on CUZ. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Cousins Properties from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Cousins Properties from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Cousins Properties from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Cousins Properties from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.50.

Cousins Properties Stock Performance

Shares of CUZ opened at $31.43 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. Cousins Properties has a 1 year low of $17.85 and a 1 year high of $32.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a PE ratio of 95.24, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.29.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.60). The firm had revenue of $209.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.54 million. Cousins Properties had a return on equity of 1.14% and a net margin of 6.17%. The company’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Cousins Properties will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 3rd. Cousins Properties’s payout ratio is currently 387.88%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jeffrey D. Symes sold 5,997 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.13, for a total transaction of $168,695.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,529 shares in the company, valued at $352,440.77. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cousins Properties

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CUZ. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 130.8% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,514 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 858 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Cousins Properties by 3,236.7% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,635 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,586 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cousins Properties during the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 30.8% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,765 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 651 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 74.6% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,298 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 1,836 shares in the last quarter. 94.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.