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

Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $33.00.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CUZ. StockNews.com cut Cousins Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets cut Cousins Properties from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $31.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Cousins Properties from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Cousins Properties from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $33.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Cousins Properties from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $22.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th.

Cousins Properties Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of CUZ traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $30.05. 1,112,091 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,324,475. Cousins Properties has a 52 week low of $21.58 and a 52 week high of $32.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company's 50 day moving average is $30.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.06. The company has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 100.17, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.29.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cousins Properties will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. Cousins Properties's dividend payout ratio is presently 426.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Cousins Properties by 67.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 981 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Cousins Properties by 49.7% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,319 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in Cousins Properties during the fourth quarter worth about $85,000. Finally, FIL Ltd grew its holdings in Cousins Properties by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 3,262 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares during the period. 94.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.