Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Boosts Stake in Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ)

Key Points

• Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its stake in Cousins Properties by 57.9%, acquiring an additional 28,081 shares, now totaling 76,570 shares valued at approximately $2.26 million.
• In the first quarter, various institutional investors also increased their holdings, with Manchester Capital Management increasing its stake by 579.7% and Phocas Financial Corp purchasing a new stake worth about $3.36 million.
• Cousins Properties recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 4.7% and a significant dividend payout ratio of 345.95%.

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its position in shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ - Free Report) by 57.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,570 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 28,081 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Cousins Properties were worth $2,259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Resolution Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Cousins Properties during the 4th quarter valued at $135,094,000. GRS Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Cousins Properties during the fourth quarter valued at about $63,759,000. Rush Island Management LP boosted its position in Cousins Properties by 91.4% during the fourth quarter. Rush Island Management LP now owns 3,011,843 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $92,283,000 after buying an additional 1,438,127 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 400.9% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,233,050 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $37,781,000 after buying an additional 986,863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 3.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,753,741 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $759,735,000 after buying an additional 951,637 shares during the period. 94.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CUZ. Truist Financial lowered Cousins Properties from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $31.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen lowered Cousins Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Cousins Properties from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.50.

Cousins Properties Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of CUZ traded up $0.63 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $27.21. 633,671 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,503,385. The company has a quick ratio of 2.45, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.53, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.33. The business's 50-day moving average price is $28.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.70. Cousins Properties Incorporated has a 1 year low of $24.07 and a 1 year high of $32.55.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.70. The business had revenue of $237.72 million for 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cousins Properties Incorporated will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 7th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Cousins Properties's payout ratio is currently 345.95%.

Cousins Properties Company Profile

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.