Evercore ISI Boosts Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) Price Target to $32.00

Key Points

• Evercore ISI has raised the price target for Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) from $31.00 to $32.00, indicating a potential upside of 8.79% from its previous close.
• The stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with a price target average of $32.50.
• Insider trading activity revealed that CAO Jeffrey D. Symes sold 4,612 shares at an average price of $29.30, decreasing his ownership of the stock by 25.44%.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ - Free Report) had its price target boosted by Evercore ISI from $31.00 to $32.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has an in-line rating on the real estate investment trust's stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Cousins Properties from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Cousins Properties from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Cousins Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $32.50.

Cousins Properties Trading Down 1.6%

NYSE CUZ traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $28.80. The company had a trading volume of 622,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,503,135. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $28.25 and a 200 day moving average of $28.42. Cousins Properties has a 1-year low of $24.07 and a 1-year high of $32.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.39.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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 for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. Cousins Properties has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.790-2.850 EPS. As a group, research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. Cousins Properties's payout ratio is presently 345.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Jeffrey D. Symes sold 4,612 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 13,518 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $396,077.40. The trade was a 25.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Cousins Properties by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,753,741 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $759,735,000 after buying an additional 951,637 shares during the period. Resolution Capital Ltd grew its holdings in Cousins Properties by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Resolution Capital Ltd now owns 5,919,230 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $177,754,000 after buying an additional 33,097 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Cousins Properties by 51.5% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,535,111 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $106,159,000 after buying an additional 1,200,952 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Cousins Properties by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,308,911 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $99,380,000 after buying an additional 12,039 shares during the period. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 40.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 2,759,950 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $82,881,000 after purchasing an additional 797,822 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.38% of the company's stock.

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.