Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) Reaches New 12-Month High at $27.97

Shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $27.97 and last traded at $27.91, with a volume of 101963 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.29.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on CUZ shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Cousins Properties from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI restated an "in-line" rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Cousins Properties in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Cousins Properties from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Cousins Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $25.86.

Cousins Properties Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $4.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.76, a PEG ratio of 4.62 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.61). The company had revenue of $212.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $208.18 million. Cousins Properties had a net margin of 7.25% and a return on equity of 1.31%. Cousins Properties's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.75 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cousins Properties Incorporated will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Cousins Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 3rd were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.58%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 3rd. Cousins Properties's payout ratio is 261.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cousins Properties

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Cousins Properties during the 1st quarter worth approximately $846,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Cousins Properties by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,781,184 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $67,722,000 after purchasing an additional 916,508 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 554.8% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 185,283 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,454,000 after acquiring an additional 156,988 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 124.6% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 246,382 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,923,000 after acquiring an additional 136,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 2.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,353,228 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $561,412,000 after acquiring an additional 456,251 shares during the last quarter. 94.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.