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

Shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $28.9167.

Several research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Cousins Properties from $31.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Capital One Financial set a $27.00 price target on Cousins Properties in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $33.00 price target on Cousins Properties in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cousins Properties in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Cousins Properties from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd.

Cousins Properties Price Performance

Cousins Properties stock opened at $22.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $23.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.34. Cousins Properties has a 1 year low of $21.03 and a 1 year high of $30.81.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71. Cousins Properties had a net margin of 4.08% and a return on equity of 0.85%. The business had revenue of $255.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $252.18 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue 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. On average, research analysts forecast that Cousins Properties will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Cousins Properties announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 17th that allows the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the real estate investment trust to buy up to 6.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Cousins Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 7th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 7th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.7%. Cousins Properties’s payout ratio is currently 533.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cousins Properties

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bell Investment Advisors Inc raised its stake in Cousins Properties by 2,539.5% in the third quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 1,003 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 965 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Cousins Properties by 128.1% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Arax Advisory Partners bought a new stake in Cousins Properties during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 176.1% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,803 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cousins Properties in the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. 94.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.