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

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

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Cousins Properties by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 44,154 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,353,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Cousins Properties by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,351 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Cousins Properties by 67.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 981 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Cousins Properties by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 22,667 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $695,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the period. Finally, Norinchukin Bank The raised its holdings in Cousins Properties by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 7,393 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 513 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.38% of the company's stock.

Cousins Properties Price Performance

CUZ traded up $0.28 during trading on Friday, reaching $27.00. The stock had a trading volume of 2,904,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,277,855. The stock has a market cap of $4.53 billion, a PE ratio of 89.99, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.74. Cousins Properties Incorporated has a one year low of $22.01 and a one year high of $32.55. The business has a 50-day moving average of $27.77 and a 200-day moving average of $29.45.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $6.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $238.49 million. Cousins Properties had a return on equity of 1.00% and a net margin of 5.36%. The firm's revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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 Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.74%. Cousins Properties's payout ratio is 387.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CUZ shares. Wolfe Research raised shares of Cousins Properties from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $31.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Cousins Properties from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Cousins Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Cousins Properties from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Cousins Properties in a report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.20.

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.