Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

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

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. 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 report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Cousins Properties from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Cousins Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Mizuho upgraded Cousins Properties from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $22.00 to $30.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Cousins Properties from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $34.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cousins Properties currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.11.

Cousins Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CUZ opened at $29.59 on Thursday. Cousins Properties has a 52-week low of $21.58 and a 52-week high of $32.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.67, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.65.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $212.54 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. Cousins Properties’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cousins Properties will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cousins Properties Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cousins Properties

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Cousins Properties by 30.8% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,765 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing 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 raised its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 74.5% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,976 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,697 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 2,543 shares during the last quarter. 94.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.