Share Buyback Plan Approved by Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ)

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 17th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the real estate investment trust to purchase up to 6.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Cousins Properties Stock Performance

Cousins Properties stock opened at $23.86 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Cousins Properties has a twelve month low of $21.03 and a twelve month high of $30.81. The company has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a PE ratio of 99.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.21.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71. Cousins Properties had a return on equity of 0.85% and a net margin of 4.08%.The firm had revenue of $255.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $252.18 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Cousins Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.870-2.970 EPS. Research analysts expect that Cousins Properties will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Cousins Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 5th were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 5th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. Cousins Properties’s payout ratio is presently 533.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CUZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays set a $34.00 price target on Cousins Properties in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cousins Properties in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Cousins Properties from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Cousins Properties in a report on Friday, February 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cousins Properties has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.50.

About Cousins Properties

Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE: CUZ) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in the development, acquisition and management of high-quality office and mixed-use properties. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company focuses on urban infill and suburban markets across the Sun Belt, with a strong presence in metropolitan areas such as Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Nashville, Orlando and Tampa. Its core activities encompass full-service property leasing, asset management and construction oversight, serving a diverse mix of corporate and institutional tenants.

Founded in 1958 as a privately held real estate concern, Cousins Properties completed its initial public offering in 1992.