Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) Short Interest Update

Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,440,000 shares, an increase of 19.0% from the February 13th total of 4,570,000 shares. Currently, 3.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,420,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cousins Properties

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Cousins Properties during the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,456,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in Cousins Properties by 155.1% during the 4th quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 125,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,830,000 after purchasing an additional 76,000 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Cousins Properties during the 4th quarter worth approximately $793,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Cousins Properties in the 4th quarter worth approximately $85,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 294,645 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,028,000 after acquiring an additional 19,831 shares in the last quarter. 94.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cousins Properties Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:CUZ traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $29.81. 775,121 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,209,100. The firm has a market cap of $5.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 99.38, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.28. 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 has a 52-week low of $21.58 and a 52-week high of $32.55. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.17.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.62. Cousins Properties had a return on equity of 1.00% and a net margin of 5.36%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Cousins Properties will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Cousins Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.29%. Cousins Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 426.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CUZ. Truist Financial raised their price target on Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Cousins Properties from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. KeyCorp upgraded Cousins Properties from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho upgraded Cousins Properties from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $30.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Cousins Properties from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.89.

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.