Swiss National Bank Lowers Stake in Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ)

Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 296,833 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,200 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.20% of Cousins Properties worth $8,751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Cousins Properties in the first quarter valued at about $14,306,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings 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. bought a new stake in shares of Cousins Properties in the second quarter valued at about $597,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd raised its holdings in Cousins Properties by 240.7% in the second 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. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Cousins Properties by 19,163.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 5,201 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 5,174 shares in the last quarter. 94.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cousins Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CUZ opened at $31.90 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $30.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.95. The firm has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.67, a P/E/G ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 1.29. Cousins Properties Incorporated has a 52 week low of $19.48 and a 52 week high of $32.52. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.60). The firm had revenue of $209.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $212.54 million. Cousins Properties had a net margin of 6.17% and a return on equity of 1.14%. Cousins Properties’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Cousins Properties Incorporated will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Cousins Properties Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Cousins Properties

In other Cousins Properties news, CAO Jeffrey D. Symes sold 5,997 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $352,440.77. This represents a 32.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Cousins Properties from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cousins Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Cousins Properties from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Cousins Properties from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.50.

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.