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

Shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $28.29.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CUZ shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Cousins Properties from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Cousins Properties from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Cousins Properties from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Cousins Properties from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Cousins Properties from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cousins Properties

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cousins Properties

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 88,588 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,128,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 0.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 position in Cousins Properties by 1.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 15,952 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.38% of the company’s stock.

Cousins Properties Stock Down 0.5 %

Cousins Properties stock opened at $29.33 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of 59.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 1.31. Cousins Properties has a 12 month low of $17.40 and a 12 month high of $30.50.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last released its 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). Cousins Properties had a net margin of 7.25% and a return on equity of 1.31%. The firm had revenue of $212.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $208.18 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.75 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Cousins Properties will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cousins Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.36%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. Cousins Properties’s payout ratio is 261.22%.

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.