Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $33.11.

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Cousins Properties from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Cousins Properties from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho raised shares of Cousins Properties from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $22.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Cousins Properties from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Cousins Properties from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th.

Institutional Trading of Cousins Properties

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CUZ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 21.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,749,662 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $51,580,000 after purchasing an additional 309,571 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised 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. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 15.9% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,205,415 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $65,016,000 after purchasing an additional 302,309 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,864,177 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $84,457,000 after purchasing an additional 36,727 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,606,870 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $224,251,000 after purchasing an additional 48,668 shares during the period. 94.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cousins Properties Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE CUZ opened at $30.12 on Tuesday. Cousins Properties has a 12 month low of $21.58 and a 12 month high of $32.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $30.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.54.

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. Cousins Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 387.88%.

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.