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

Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the ten analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $32.60.

Several equities analysts have commented on CUZ shares. Wolfe Research raised shares of Cousins Properties from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $31.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on Cousins Properties from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Cousins Properties from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Cousins Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cousins Properties

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Resolution Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Cousins Properties during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $135,094,000. GRS Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Cousins Properties during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,759,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Cousins Properties during the fourth quarter worth about $57,194,000. Rush Island Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 91.4% during the fourth quarter. Rush Island Management LP now owns 3,011,843 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $92,283,000 after buying an additional 1,438,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,491,300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $413,375,000 after acquiring an additional 1,350,352 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.38% of the company's stock.

Cousins Properties Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE CUZ traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $27.59. The company had a trading volume of 1,617,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,258,916. Cousins Properties has a twelve month low of $22.01 and a twelve month high of $32.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a PE ratio of 91.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.34. The stock's 50 day moving average is $27.91 and its 200-day moving average is $29.54.

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

Cousins Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.64%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. Cousins Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 387.88%.

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.