AQR Capital Management LLC Purchases 116,009 Shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated $CUZ

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management increased its stake in Cousins Properties Incorporated by 44% during Q1, owning 379,544 shares worth approximately $11.1 million at the end of the reporting period.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $1.28 and a dividend yield of 4.4%.
• Analysts have mixed sentiments on Cousins Properties, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.40, while some firms have recently adjusted their ratings and price targets, indicating varied outlooks.

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ - Free Report) by 44.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 379,544 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 116,009 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.23% of Cousins Properties worth $11,117,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Resolution Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Cousins Properties during the fourth quarter worth $135,094,000. Rush Island Management LP boosted its stake in Cousins Properties by 91.4% in the 4th quarter. Rush Island Management LP now owns 3,011,843 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $92,283,000 after purchasing an additional 1,438,127 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Cousins Properties by 400.9% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,233,050 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $37,781,000 after purchasing an additional 986,863 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,753,741 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $759,735,000 after purchasing an additional 951,637 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 106.6% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,289,407 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $38,038,000 after purchasing an additional 665,391 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CUZ shares. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Cousins Properties from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Cousins Properties from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Cousins Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 6th. Finally, 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 research report on Monday, May 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $32.50.

Cousins Properties Stock Performance

CUZ stock traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $29.28. The stock had a trading volume of 1,596,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,450,500. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.42. Cousins Properties Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $24.07 and a fifty-two week high of $32.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a PE ratio of 79.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.39. 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 (NYSE:CUZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.70. The business had revenue of $237.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $243.73 million. Cousins Properties had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 1.27%. Cousins Properties's revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. Cousins Properties has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.790-2.850 EPS. Analysts predict that Cousins Properties Incorporated will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cousins Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th were issued 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 4.4%. Cousins Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 345.95%.

Insider Transactions at Cousins Properties

In other Cousins Properties news, CAO Jeffrey D. Symes sold 4,612 shares of Cousins Properties stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 13,518 shares of the company's stock, 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.