Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) Upgraded to “Neutral” at Mizuho

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) was upgraded by research analysts at Mizuho from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $30.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $22.00. Mizuho’s price target points to a potential downside of 0.83% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on CUZ. Barclays upped their price target on Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Cousins Properties from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com raised Cousins Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Cousins Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Cousins Properties from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $34.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.11.

Cousins Properties Price Performance

Cousins Properties stock opened at $30.25 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 1.29. Cousins Properties has a one year low of $21.58 and a one year high of $32.55. The business has a fifty day moving average of $30.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cousins Properties

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 49.7% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,319 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Cousins Properties by 30.8% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,765 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 651 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Cousins Properties during the second quarter valued at approximately $115,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in Cousins Properties by 74.5% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,976 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 1,697 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 168.0% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,057 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $120,000 after acquiring an additional 2,543 shares in the last quarter. 94.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.