Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.71.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cousins Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays raised their price target on Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Cousins Properties from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Cousins Properties from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Cousins Properties from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cousins Properties

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CUZ. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Cousins Properties by 3,768.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,337,416 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $68,907,000 after acquiring an additional 2,276,986 shares during the last quarter. Rush Island Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Cousins Properties during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,393,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Cousins Properties by 411.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,113,403 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $32,823,000 after buying an additional 895,917 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in Cousins Properties during the 3rd quarter valued at $20,276,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 368.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 781,947 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $23,052,000 after acquiring an additional 615,118 shares during the last quarter. 94.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cousins Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CUZ traded up $0.38 on Monday, reaching $31.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,440,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,304,914. Cousins Properties has a 52-week low of $21.58 and a 52-week high of $32.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.00, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 1.29. The stock's 50-day moving average is $30.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ - Get Free Report) last released 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). Cousins Properties had a return on equity of 1.14% and a net margin of 6.17%. The company had revenue of $209.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $212.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. Cousins Properties's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cousins Properties will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 3rd. Cousins Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 387.88%.

Cousins Properties Company Profile

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.