Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) Rating Lowered to Sell at 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 cut shares of Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Cousins Properties from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on Cousins Properties from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.40.

Cousins Properties Stock Up 1.5%

Cousins Properties stock traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $29.07. The stock had a trading volume of 1,008,673 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,505,405. The company has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.50, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $28.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.45. Cousins Properties has a one year low of $24.07 and a one year high of $32.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 2.45.

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

Cousins Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 7th. Cousins Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 345.95%.

Insider Transactions at Cousins Properties

In related news, CAO Jeffrey D. Symes sold 4,612 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.30, for a total value of $135,131.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 13,518 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $396,077.40. This represents a 25.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.47% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cousins Properties

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. boosted its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 3,175 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 16,377 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $483,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,374 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,932 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 110,867 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,397,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. 94.38% of the stock is 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.