1,306,530 Shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated $CUZ Purchased by Aew Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Aew Capital Management acquired 1,306,530 Cousins Properties shares in the third quarter, worth about $36.1 million. The stake represents 0.79% of the REIT and 2.4% of Aew’s portfolio.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $31.50; seven analysts rate the stock Buy and two rate it Hold.
• Cousins reported quarterly earnings per share of $0.10, matching estimates, while revenue of $259.42 million fell short of expectations. It also pays a $1.28 annualized dividend, a stated yield of 4.3%.

Aew Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,306,530 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $36,112,000. Cousins Properties makes up 2.4% of Aew Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Aew Capital Management Inc. owned 0.79% of Cousins Properties as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of CUZ. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cousins Properties during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Avalon Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Cousins Properties during the first quarter worth $39,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Cousins Properties by 747.2% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,525 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,345 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 92.3% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in Cousins Properties during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.38% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cousins Properties news, CAO Jeffrey Symes sold 6,033 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.44, for a total value of $177,611.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 16,685 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $491,206.40. The trade was a 26.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Cousins Properties from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Mizuho set a $34.00 price target on Cousins Properties in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Cousins Properties in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Cousins Properties from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Cousins Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cousins Properties has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.50.

Cousins Properties Price Performance

Shares of Cousins Properties stock opened at $29.64 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.06, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.17. Cousins Properties Incorporated has a 1-year low of $21.03 and a 1-year high of $32.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.11.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.10. Cousins Properties had a net margin of 1.42% and a return on equity of 0.33%. The business had revenue of $259.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $264.23 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Cousins Properties Incorporated will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cousins Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 5th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 5th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. Cousins Properties's dividend payout ratio is presently 1,422.22%.

About Cousins Properties

Cousins Properties is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on owning, developing and managing office properties. Its portfolio is concentrated in high-quality office buildings in growing Sun Belt markets. The company's properties serve businesses across markets including Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Dallas, Nashville, Phoenix and Tampa. Cousins also provides property management and leasing services to tenants and property owners. Founded in 1958 by Tom Cousins, the company is headquartered in Atlanta.

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