Legal & General Group Plc Has $32.31 Million Stock Position in Cousins Properties Incorporated $CUZ

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Cousins Properties by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 107,284 shares. The firm now owns 1,253,338 shares valued at about $32.31 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains mixed but constructive, with analysts holding a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.36. Recent calls included price target cuts from Barclays and Truist, though several firms still maintained bullish ratings.
• Cousins Properties reported a quarterly earnings miss, posting EPS of ($0.15) versus expectations for a profit, even as revenue rose 7.4% year over year to $263.11 million. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share and has authorized a $250 million share buyback.

Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ - Free Report) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,253,338 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 107,284 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.75% of Cousins Properties worth $32,311,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bell Investment Advisors Inc raised its stake in Cousins Properties by 2,539.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 1,003 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 965 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Cousins Properties by 128.1% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 692 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Cousins Properties during the 3rd quarter worth $52,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Cousins Properties by 55.9% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 753 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Cousins Properties during the 4th quarter worth $80,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on CUZ. Barclays dropped their price objective on Cousins Properties from $34.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Cousins Properties from $28.00 to $24.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Capital One Financial set a $27.00 price objective on Cousins Properties in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Mizuho set a $27.00 price objective on Cousins Properties in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Cousins Properties in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cousins Properties has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $28.36.

Cousins Properties Price Performance

CUZ stock opened at $26.85 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $24.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.79. The stock has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a PE ratio of -894.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Cousins Properties Incorporated has a 1 year low of $21.03 and a 1 year high of $30.81.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $263.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $256.77 million. Cousins Properties had a negative return on equity of 0.11% and a negative net margin of 0.52%.Cousins Properties's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. Cousins Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.900-2.980 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Cousins Properties Incorporated will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cousins Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 7th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 7th. Cousins Properties's dividend payout ratio is -4,266.67%.

Cousins Properties declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 17th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the real estate investment trust to reacquire up to 6.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

About Cousins Properties

Cousins Properties Incorporated NYSE: CUZ is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in the development, acquisition and management of high-quality office and mixed-use properties. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company focuses on urban infill and suburban markets across the Sun Belt, with a strong presence in metropolitan areas such as Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Nashville, Orlando and Tampa. Its core activities encompass full-service property leasing, asset management and construction oversight, serving a diverse mix of corporate and institutional tenants.

Founded in 1958 as a privately held real estate concern, Cousins Properties completed its initial public offering in 1992.

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