Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) Stock Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ - Get Free Report) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $28.40 and traded as high as $30.72. Cousins Properties shares last traded at $30.64, with a volume of 1,332,022 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CUZ shares. StockNews.com upgraded Cousins Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Cousins Properties from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Cousins Properties from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of 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 report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Cousins Properties from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cousins Properties has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $33.50.

Cousins Properties Stock Performance

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 50-day moving average price is $30.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.89 billion, a PE ratio of 93.73, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 1.29.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.60). Cousins Properties had a net margin of 6.17% and a return on equity of 1.14%. The firm had revenue of $209.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.54 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Cousins Properties Incorporated will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. Cousins Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 387.88%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cousins Properties

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CUZ. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake 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. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Cousins Properties by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,205,415 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $65,016,000 after purchasing an additional 302,309 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. purchased a new stake in Cousins Properties during the 2nd quarter valued at about $597,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Cousins Properties by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,864,177 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $84,457,000 after purchasing an additional 36,727 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd raised its holdings in Cousins Properties by 240.7% in the second quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 29,757 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $689,000 after buying an additional 21,022 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.