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

Key Points

• Shares carry an average analyst rating of Moderate Buy from nine firms (six buys, two holds, one sell) with a mean 1‑year target of $29.70, though several brokers have trimmed targets recently.
• The board approved a $250 million share repurchase (up to 6.6% of shares) and the company yields a 5.5% dividend ($1.28 annualized), but the dividend reflects a very high payout ratio (~533%), raising sustainability questions.
• Cousins reported Q4 EPS of $0.71 (met estimates) with revenue up 13.2% YoY, provided FY2026 EPS guidance of 2.870–2.970 (analysts ~2.76), and remains highly institutionally owned (~94%) with several funds adding to positions.

Shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $29.70.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CUZ shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Cousins Properties from $34.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird set a $33.00 price target on shares of Cousins Properties in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Cousins Properties from $37.00 to $33.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Mizuho set a $27.00 price objective on Cousins Properties in a report on Tuesday, February 24th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cousins Properties

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CUZ. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Cousins Properties by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,771 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 5,542 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Cousins Properties by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 795,843 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $20,520,000 after purchasing an additional 96,808 shares during the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. bought a new position in Cousins Properties during the 4th quarter worth approximately $209,000. Dean Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 104.3% in the 4th quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 45,601 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,176,000 after purchasing an additional 23,285 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,301,552 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $85,114,000 after purchasing an additional 131,166 shares during the period. 94.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cousins Properties Price Performance

Shares of CUZ opened at $23.20 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a PE ratio of 96.66, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.21. Cousins Properties has a 12-month low of $21.03 and a 12-month high of $30.81. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.17.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71. Cousins Properties had a return on equity of 0.85% and a net margin of 4.08%.The firm had revenue of $255.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $252.18 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Cousins Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.870-2.970 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Cousins Properties will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 5th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 5th. Cousins Properties's payout ratio is 533.33%.

Cousins Properties announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to buy up to 6.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Cousins Properties Company Profile

Cousins Properties Incorporated NYSE: CUZ is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in the development, acquisition and management of high-quality office and mixed-use properties. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company focuses on urban infill and suburban markets across the Sun Belt, with a strong presence in metropolitan areas such as Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Nashville, Orlando and Tampa. Its core activities encompass full-service property leasing, asset management and construction oversight, serving a diverse mix of corporate and institutional tenants.

Founded in 1958 as a privately held real estate concern, Cousins Properties completed its initial public offering in 1992.

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