Wexford Capital LP Purchases Shares of 9,000 Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ)

Wexford Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 9,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $276,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Cousins Properties by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,802,104 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $759,936,000 after purchasing an additional 985,934 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,491,300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $413,375,000 after buying an additional 1,350,352 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. now owns 7,853,306 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $240,625,000 after buying an additional 19,657 shares during the last quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 5,600,905 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $171,612,000 after buying an additional 585,659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resolution Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Cousins Properties in the fourth quarter worth about $135,094,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.38% of the company's stock.

Cousins Properties Price Performance

Shares of Cousins Properties stock opened at $28.02 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.56. Cousins Properties Incorporated has a 12 month low of $22.01 and a 12 month high of $32.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.40, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.03. Cousins Properties had a return on equity of 1.00% and a net margin of 5.36%. The business had revenue of $6.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $238.49 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Cousins Properties Incorporated will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.57%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. Cousins Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 387.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on CUZ shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Cousins Properties in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Cousins Properties from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays reduced their price target on Cousins Properties from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Cousins Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.60.

Cousins Properties 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.

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