Cousins Properties Incorporated $CUZ Shares Sold by Alyeska Investment Group L.P.

Key Points

• Alyeska Investment Group L.P. reduced its stake in Cousins Properties Incorporated by 40.8%, now holding approximately 1,483,785 shares worth $43.77 million.
• Cousins Properties has reported a $0.70 EPS for the last quarter, meeting analysts' expectations, with revenue increasing by 12.7% year-over-year.
• The firm's recent quarterly dividend was $0.32 per share, resulting in an annual yield of 4.4%, but its payout ratio is high at 345.95%.

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lessened its holdings in Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ - Free Report) by 40.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,483,785 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 1,022,125 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. owned approximately 0.88% of Cousins Properties worth $43,772,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. raised its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 14.8% in 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 period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in 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 worth $483,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Cousins Properties by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,374 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in 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 worth $3,397,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its stake in Cousins Properties by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 40,144 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,184,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. 94.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on CUZ. Wall Street Zen lowered Cousins Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on 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 increased their target price on Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Cousins Properties from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Jeffrey D. Symes sold 4,612 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.30, for a total transaction of $135,131.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 13,518 shares in the company, valued at $396,077.40. The trade was a 25.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cousins Properties Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:CUZ traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $29.48. The stock had a trading volume of 1,780,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,397,860. Cousins Properties Incorporated has a 1 year low of $24.07 and a 1 year high of $32.55. The firm's 50 day moving average is $28.31 and its 200-day moving average is $28.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a current ratio of 2.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70. Cousins Properties had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 1.27%. The company had revenue of $237.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $243.73 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue 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. Research analysts predict that Cousins Properties Incorporated will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

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

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.