Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) Holdings Cut by MQS Management LLC

MQS Management LLC trimmed its stake in Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ - Free Report) by 71.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,848 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 17,213 shares during the quarter. MQS Management LLC's holdings in Cousins Properties were worth $202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CUZ. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Cousins Properties by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 67,728 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,997,000 after purchasing an additional 2,418 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in 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 worth $23,052,000 after buying an additional 615,118 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Cousins Properties in the 3rd quarter valued at about $511,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in Cousins Properties by 35.8% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 118,236 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,486,000 after purchasing an additional 31,199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 131,391 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,873,000 after buying an additional 1,977 shares during the period. 94.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cousins Properties Stock Down 0.3 %

CUZ stock traded down $0.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $30.65. The stock had a trading volume of 1,441,288 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,311,665. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $30.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.88, a PEG ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 1.29. Cousins Properties Incorporated has a 1-year low of $19.45 and a 1-year high of $32.44.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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). Cousins Properties had a net margin of 6.17% and a return on equity of 1.14%. The business had revenue of $209.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $212.54 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Cousins Properties Incorporated will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.18%. Cousins Properties's dividend payout ratio is presently 387.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cousins Properties

In other news, CAO Jeffrey D. Symes sold 5,997 shares of Cousins Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.13, for a total value of $168,695.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $352,440.77. This trade represents a 32.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CUZ. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Cousins Properties from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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. StockNews.com upgraded Cousins Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Cousins Properties from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.50.

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.