Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) Lowered to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Thursday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on CUZ. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. 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 research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Cousins Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Cousins Properties from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Cousins Properties from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.11.

Cousins Properties Stock Performance

CUZ opened at $29.59 on Thursday. Cousins Properties has a 12-month low of $21.58 and a 12-month high of $32.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $30.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last announced its 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). Cousins Properties had a return on equity of 1.14% and a net margin of 6.17%. The company had revenue of $209.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.54 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Cousins Properties will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.33%. Cousins Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 387.88%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cousins Properties

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Cousins Properties by 49.7% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,319 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Cousins Properties by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 23,534 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $545,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Cousins Properties by 30.8% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,765 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its position in Cousins Properties by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 133,620 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,093,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Cousins Properties by 2.1% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 42,573 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $986,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares in the last quarter. 94.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.