Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $31.50.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CUZ. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Cousins Properties from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Cousins Properties from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Cousins Properties from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Cousins Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jeffrey D. Symes sold 5,997 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.13, for a total transaction of $168,695.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $352,440.77. This represents a 32.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 3,768.0% in the 3rd 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 Cousins Properties during the third quarter worth $46,393,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 411.9% during the third 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 worth $32,823,000 after buying an additional 895,917 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Cousins Properties in the third 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 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 781,947 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $23,052,000 after buying an additional 615,118 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.38% of the company's stock.

Cousins Properties Price Performance

Cousins Properties stock opened at $31.10 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company's fifty day moving average price is $30.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.24, a P/E/G ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 1.29. Cousins Properties has a 1 year low of $19.45 and a 1 year high of $32.44.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.60). The company had revenue of $209.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $212.54 million. Cousins Properties had a return on equity of 1.14% and a net margin of 6.17%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cousins Properties will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cousins Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.12%. Cousins Properties's payout ratio is 387.88%.

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.