Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires New Shares in Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 25,874 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $793,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GRS Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cousins Properties in the fourth quarter valued at $63,759,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 257,783 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $7,898,000 after purchasing an additional 19,512 shares in the last quarter. Expect Equity LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cousins Properties in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,872,000. FJ Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cousins Properties in the 4th quarter worth approximately $280,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Cousins Properties by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 110,867 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,397,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. 94.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cousins Properties Stock Down 2.2%

CUZ stock traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $28.02. The company had a trading volume of 1,639,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,255,830. The company has a 50 day moving average of $27.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.57. The company has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.40, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.34. Cousins Properties Incorporated has a 1 year low of $22.01 and a 1 year 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.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.03. Cousins Properties had a return on equity of 1.00% and a net margin of 5.36%. The business had revenue of $6.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.49 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. Cousins Properties's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Cousins Properties Incorporated will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cousins Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.57%. Cousins Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 387.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CUZ has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday. Barclays reduced their target price on Cousins Properties from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Cousins Properties in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Cousins Properties from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $31.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Cousins Properties from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.60.

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.