Woodline Partners LP Raises Stock Position in Cousins Properties Incorporated $CUZ

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 grew its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ - Free Report) by 58.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 978,868 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 361,342 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP owned 0.58% of Cousins Properties worth $28,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CUZ. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 926,239 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $28,380,000 after buying an additional 11,466 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Cousins Properties by 40.5% during the 4th quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 45,241 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,386,000 after purchasing an additional 13,050 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings 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 valued at $3,397,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Cousins Properties by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 257,783 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $7,898,000 after purchasing an additional 19,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Cousins Properties during the 4th quarter valued at about $793,000. 94.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cousins Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CUZ traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $29.26. The company had a trading volume of 259,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,501,314. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $28.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.43. The stock has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.39. Cousins Properties Incorporated 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.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70. The business 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. Cousins Properties has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.790-2.850 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Cousins Properties Incorporated will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cousins Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 7th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Cousins Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 345.95%.

Insider Activity

In other Cousins Properties news, CAO Jeffrey D. Symes sold 4,612 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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. This trade represents a 25.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.47% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on CUZ. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Cousins Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, September 6th. 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 report on Monday, May 19th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Cousins Properties from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday. Truist Financial dropped their target price 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. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.50.

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.