Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) Raised to “Buy” at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $36.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their previous price target of $33.00.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about 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 report on Tuesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp upgraded Cousins Properties from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $34.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays increased their target price on Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Cousins Properties from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cousins Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.50.

Cousins Properties Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Cousins Properties stock opened at $30.93 on Thursday. Cousins Properties has a 12-month low of $21.58 and a 12-month high of $32.55. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $4.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.73, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.14%. Cousins Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 387.88%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cousins Properties

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 27.9% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 14,293 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 3,120 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Cousins Properties by 6.4% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 26,243 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $608,000 after buying an additional 1,579 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 452,191 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,468,000 after acquiring an additional 2,972 shares during the period. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cousins Properties during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $517,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 221.1% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 143,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,278,000 after acquiring an additional 98,600 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.38% of the company’s stock.

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.