MQS Management LLC Purchases Shares of 24,061 Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ)

MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 24,061 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $557,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Cousins Properties by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,353,228 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $561,412,000 after purchasing an additional 456,251 shares in the last quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 8.9% in the first quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 4,898,757 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $112,377,000 after buying an additional 399,468 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Cousins Properties by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,781,184 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $67,722,000 after acquiring an additional 916,508 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Cousins Properties by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,214,595 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $51,266,000 after acquiring an additional 98,222 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Cousins Properties by 75.6% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,917,908 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $46,107,000 after purchasing an additional 825,547 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.38% of the company’s stock.

Cousins Properties Stock Performance

Shares of Cousins Properties stock opened at $29.14 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.50. The stock has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a PE ratio of 59.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Cousins Properties Incorporated has a 12 month low of $17.40 and a 12 month high of $29.77.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.61). The company had revenue of $212.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $208.18 million. Cousins Properties had a net margin of 7.25% and a return on equity of 1.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.75 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cousins Properties Incorporated will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd. Cousins Properties’s payout ratio is currently 261.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CUZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on Cousins Properties from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI boosted 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. Truist Financial increased their price objective 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 Cousins Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Cousins Properties from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jeffrey D. Symes sold 5,997 shares of Cousins Properties stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.13, for a total transaction of $168,695.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $352,440.77. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.