Wells Fargo & Company Raises Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) Price Target to $31.00

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) had its target price raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $26.00 to $31.00 in a research note published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on CUZ. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Cousins Properties from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI restated an in-line rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Cousins Properties in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Cousins Properties from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Cousins Properties from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Cousins Properties from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $28.14.

Cousins Properties Stock Performance

NYSE CUZ opened at $29.43 on Wednesday. Cousins Properties has a twelve month low of $17.40 and a twelve month high of $29.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.36. The stock has a market cap of $4.48 billion, a PE ratio of 60.06, a P/E/G ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 1.31.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.61). Cousins Properties had a return on equity of 1.31% and a net margin of 7.25%. The company had revenue of $212.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $208.18 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.75 EPS. Cousins Properties’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Cousins Properties will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 3rd were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.35%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 3rd. Cousins Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 261.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Jeffrey D. Symes sold 5,997 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.13, for a total value of $168,695.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $352,440.77. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Cousins Properties during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,502,000. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Cousins Properties during the 4th quarter valued at $32,105,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Cousins Properties by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,781,184 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $67,722,000 after purchasing an additional 916,508 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Cousins Properties by 75.6% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,917,908 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $46,107,000 after purchasing an additional 825,547 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Cousins Properties during the 1st quarter worth about $14,306,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.