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

Shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $30.67.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Cousins Properties from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Cousins Properties from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Cousins Properties from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Barclays raised their price objective on Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Cousins Properties from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th.

Cousins Properties Stock Performance

Shares of CUZ opened at $31.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.80 billion, a PE ratio of 64.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $29.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.76. Cousins Properties has a 12-month low of $17.40 and a 12-month high of $32.17.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.61). The business had revenue of $212.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $208.18 million. Cousins Properties had a net margin of 7.25% and a return on equity of 1.31%. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.75 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cousins Properties will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.06%. Cousins Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 261.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cousins Properties news, CAO Jeffrey D. Symes sold 5,997 shares of Cousins Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $352,440.77. The trade was 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. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cousins Properties

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. abrdn plc increased its stake in Cousins Properties by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 30,089 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $887,000 after purchasing an additional 2,327 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 4.7% during the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 36,509 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,059,000 after acquiring an additional 1,626 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 34.8% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,903 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $173,000 after acquiring an additional 1,523 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Cousins Properties during the third quarter valued at approximately $863,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 30.8% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,765 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 651 shares in 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.