Dark Forest Capital Management LP Takes Position in Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 11,151 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $342,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Cousins Properties by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,749,662 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $51,580,000 after acquiring an additional 309,571 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 466,850 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $14,304,000 after buying an additional 21,939 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,677,769 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $82,047,000 after buying an additional 189,411 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Cousins Properties by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,027 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,135 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Cousins Properties by 24.5% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 36,162 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,108,000 after acquiring an additional 7,119 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on CUZ. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Cousins Properties from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research upgraded 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. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Cousins Properties in a report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Mizuho raised Cousins Properties from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $30.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Cousins Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cousins Properties currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.70.

Cousins Properties Price Performance

NYSE CUZ traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $27.78. 1,544,832 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,249,071. The company has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a PE ratio of 92.59, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.74. Cousins Properties Incorporated has a 52-week low of $22.01 and a 52-week high of $32.55. The firm's 50-day moving average is $28.28 and its 200-day moving average is $29.84.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.03. Cousins Properties had a return on equity of 1.00% and a net margin of 5.36%. Equities analysts forecast that Cousins Properties Incorporated will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.61%. Cousins Properties's payout ratio is 426.67%.

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.