UBS Group AG Cuts Position in Cousins Properties Incorporated $CUZ

Key Points

• UBS Group AG reduced its stake in Cousins Properties by 32.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 268,920 shares and leaving it with 567,046 shares worth about $14.6 million.
• The company’s latest earnings missed expectations, reporting a quarterly loss of $0.15 per share versus the expected $0.06 profit, even though revenue of $263.1 million came in above estimates and rose 7.4% year over year.
• Cousins Properties is returning capital to shareholders through a $250 million share buyback program and a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, which annualizes to a 4.8% yield.

UBS Group AG cut its stake in Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ - Free Report) by 32.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 567,046 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 268,920 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned about 0.34% of Cousins Properties worth $14,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CUZ. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in Cousins Properties during the 2nd quarter worth $902,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew 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 last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Cousins Properties during the 2nd quarter worth $3,723,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in Cousins Properties by 40.8% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 110,926 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,331,000 after buying an additional 32,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Cousins Properties by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 286,452 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,602,000 after buying an additional 22,741 shares during the last quarter. 94.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cousins Properties Stock Down 0.1%

Cousins Properties stock opened at $26.40 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.34 billion, a PE ratio of -879.57, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.21. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $23.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. Cousins Properties Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $21.03 and a fifty-two week high of $30.81.

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

Cousins Properties announced that its board has approved a stock 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 repurchase 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.

Cousins Properties Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Capital One Financial set a $27.00 target price on Cousins Properties in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Cousins Properties in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Cousins Properties from $31.00 to $27.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Barclays dropped their price target 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $33.00 price target on Cousins Properties in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cousins Properties presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $28.36.

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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