Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) Trading 6.1% Higher

Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) was up 6.1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $27.03 and last traded at $26.72. Approximately 885,988 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 37% from the average daily volume of 1,397,320 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.18.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Cousins Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.67.

Cousins Properties Trading Up 8.2 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a PE ratio of 55.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.24.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by ($0.54). Cousins Properties had a return on equity of 1.62% and a net margin of 9.15%. The firm had revenue of $209.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $199.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Cousins Properties Incorporated will post 2.65 EPS for the current year.

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 3rd were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 3rd. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.70%. Cousins Properties’s payout ratio is 261.22%.

Insider Transactions at Cousins Properties

In other Cousins Properties news, CFO Gregg D. Adzema sold 71,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.31, for a total value of $1,657,271.07. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 85,872 shares in the company, valued at $2,001,676.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cousins Properties

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Cousins Properties in the 1st quarter valued at $846,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Cousins Properties by 49.2% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,781,184 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $67,722,000 after acquiring an additional 916,508 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 554.8% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 185,283 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,454,000 after purchasing an additional 156,988 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 124.6% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 246,382 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,923,000 after purchasing an additional 136,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centersquare Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 8.9% during the first quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 4,898,757 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $112,377,000 after purchasing an additional 399,468 shares in the last quarter. 94.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.