Cousins Properties Incorporated $CUZ Stock Position Raised by Woodline Partners LP

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in Cousins Properties by 58.5%, holding approximately 978,868 shares valued at $28.9 million as of the end of the most recent quarter.
• Cousins Properties reported a 12.7% year-over-year revenue increase with earnings per share matching analyst expectations at $0.70 for the last quarter.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, representing an annual yield of 4.5%, though its current payout ratio is notably high at 345.95%.

Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ - Free Report) by 58.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 978,868 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 361,342 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP owned 0.58% of Cousins Properties worth $28,877,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Choreo LLC increased its holdings in Cousins Properties by 25.6% in the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 27,837 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $821,000 after buying an additional 5,681 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in Cousins Properties by 13.5% in the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 166,446 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,910,000 after buying an additional 19,744 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Cousins Properties by 16.0% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 9,421 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 1,297 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 0.9% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,384,847 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $40,853,000 after purchasing an additional 12,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 25.3% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,554 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,527 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction 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 $396,077.40. This represents 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 at the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CUZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Cousins Properties from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Cousins Properties from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Cousins Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.40.

Cousins Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CUZ traded down $0.18 during trading on Friday, reaching $29.43. 1,047,241 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,458,514. 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 Incorporated has a 12 month low of $24.07 and a 12 month high of $32.55. The company has a 50 day moving average of $28.24 and a 200-day moving average of $28.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 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, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.70. The firm had revenue of $237.72 million during 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 quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. Cousins Properties has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.790-2.850 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Cousins Properties Incorporated will post 2.76 EPS for the current 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 of this dividend was Monday, July 7th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. Cousins Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.