Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday morning.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on CUZ. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cousins Properties in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Cousins Properties from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Cousins Properties from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Cousins Properties from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cousins Properties presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.91.

Cousins Properties Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:CUZ opened at $28.76 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $28.30 and its 200-day moving average is $28.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a current ratio of 2.45. Cousins Properties has a 52 week low of $24.07 and a 52 week high of $32.55. The firm has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.39.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70. Cousins Properties had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 1.27%. The company had revenue of $237.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $243.73 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. Cousins Properties’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Cousins Properties has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.790-2.850 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Cousins Properties will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Cousins Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 345.95%.

Insider Activity at Cousins Properties

In other news, CAO Jeffrey D. Symes sold 4,612 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.30, for a total value of $135,131.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 13,518 shares in the company, valued at $396,077.40. This represents a 25.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cousins Properties

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Cousins Properties in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cousins Properties in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 55.9% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 753 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 74.8% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,341 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 2,095.3% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,349 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.38% of the company’s stock.

Cousins Properties Company 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.