Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Analysts at Wall Street Zen have downgraded Cousins Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating as recent performance reflects challenges in the market.
• Cousins Properties currently has an average price target of $32.40, with six analysts rating it as a Buy and four as Hold.
• In its latest earnings report, Cousins Properties matched the expected earnings per share of $0.70 and saw a revenue increase of 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

CUZ has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Cousins Properties from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Cousins Properties from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.40.

Cousins Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CUZ traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $29.64. The company had a trading volume of 1,480,222 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,446,755. The company has a quick ratio of 2.45, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Cousins Properties has a twelve month low of $24.07 and a twelve month high of $32.55. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.39.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.70. Cousins Properties had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 1.27%. The firm had revenue of $237.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $243.73 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Cousins Properties has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.790-2.850 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cousins Properties will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 7th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Cousins Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 345.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Jeffrey D. Symes sold 4,612 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.30, for a total transaction of $135,131.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 13,518 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $396,077.40. This represents a 25.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cousins Properties

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CUZ. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Cousins Properties by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 926,239 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $28,380,000 after purchasing an additional 11,466 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 40.5% during the fourth quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 45,241 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,386,000 after purchasing an additional 13,050 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $3,397,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 257,783 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $7,898,000 after purchasing an additional 19,512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GRS Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cousins Properties during the fourth quarter worth $63,759,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.38% of the company's stock.

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.