Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) Receives $32.70 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $32.70.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Cousins Properties in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut Cousins Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wolfe Research raised Cousins Properties from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $31.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Cousins Properties from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Cousins Properties from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd.

Cousins Properties Stock Performance

Shares of CUZ stock traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $27.59. 538,757 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,257,121. Cousins Properties has a 12 month low of $22.01 and a 12 month high of $32.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $28.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a PE ratio of 91.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.62. Cousins Properties had a return on equity of 1.00% and a net margin of 5.36%. On average, research analysts forecast that Cousins Properties will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.64%. Cousins Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 426.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cousins Properties

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CUZ. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in Cousins Properties in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Cousins Properties by 1,609.3% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 923 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Cousins Properties by 67.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 981 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Cousins Properties in the 4th quarter worth $85,000. Finally, FIL Ltd grew its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 3,262 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.38% of the company's stock.

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.