Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Cuts Stake in Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its holdings in Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) by 1.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 143,883 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,344 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Cousins Properties were worth $4,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 31.4% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 15,666 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $462,000 after buying an additional 3,747 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 22.5% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,892 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 3.7% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 67,728 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,997,000 after purchasing an additional 2,418 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 368.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 781,947 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $23,052,000 after purchasing an additional 615,118 shares during the period. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in Cousins Properties during the third quarter worth about $511,000. 94.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cousins Properties Price Performance

Shares of CUZ opened at $31.72 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.12, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 1.29. Cousins Properties Incorporated has a 52 week low of $19.48 and a 52 week high of $32.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $30.40 and a 200-day moving average of $26.95.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.60). Cousins Properties had a net margin of 6.17% and a return on equity of 1.14%. The firm had revenue of $209.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Cousins Properties Incorporated will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

Cousins Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 3rd. Cousins Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 387.88%.

Insider Activity at Cousins Properties

In other news, CAO Jeffrey D. Symes sold 5,997 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.13, for a total value of $168,695.61. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $352,440.77. The trade was a 32.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CUZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Cousins Properties from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Cousins Properties from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Cousins Properties from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cousins Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Cousins Properties from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cousins Properties presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.50.

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.