Brokerages Set Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) Target Price at $31.50

Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.50.

A number of analysts have recently commented on CUZ shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Cousins Properties from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Cousins Properties from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. Barclays increased their price objective on Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Cousins Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th.

Insider Transactions at Cousins Properties

In related news, CAO Jeffrey D. Symes sold 5,997 shares of Cousins Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.13, for a total value of $168,695.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $352,440.77. This trade represents a 32.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Cousins Properties by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,353,228 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $561,412,000 after buying an additional 456,251 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Cousins Properties during the first quarter worth $14,306,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 615,118 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. purchased a new position in Cousins Properties in the second quarter valued at $597,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd grew its stake in Cousins Properties by 240.7% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 29,757 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $689,000 after purchasing an additional 21,022 shares in the last quarter. 94.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cousins Properties Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of CUZ opened at $31.90 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.67, a PEG ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 1.29. Cousins Properties has a 12 month low of $19.48 and a 12 month high of $32.52. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $30.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

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

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 3rd. Cousins Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 387.88%.

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.