Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases Shares of 42,600 Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 42,600 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,037,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PARK CIRCLE Co acquired a new stake in shares of Cousins Properties in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Cousins Properties during the third quarter worth $173,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY lifted its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 750.0% during the fourth quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 8,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cousins Properties during the fourth quarter worth $307,000. Finally, United Services Automobile Association lifted its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 23.9% during the third quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 13,158 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 2,536 shares during the period. 94.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Cousins Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Cousins Properties from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Cousins Properties from $29.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.67.

Cousins Properties Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE:CUZ opened at $23.12 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $23.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.69, a PEG ratio of 6.04 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. Cousins Properties Incorporated has a 1 year low of $17.40 and a 1 year high of $25.19.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.53). Cousins Properties had a return on equity of 1.81% and a net margin of 10.33%. The business had revenue of $197.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $198.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cousins Properties Incorporated will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cousins Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 4th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.54%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 3rd. Cousins Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 232.73%.

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.