Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 458,387 Shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) by 3.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,140,948 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 458,387 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 7.98% of Cousins Properties worth $357,910,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 130.8% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,514 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 858 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 3,236.7% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,635 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,586 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cousins Properties during the 1st quarter worth $43,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 30.8% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,765 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Cousins Properties during the 2nd quarter worth $115,000. 94.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Cousins Properties

In related news, CAO Jeffrey D. Symes sold 5,997 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.13, for a total transaction of $168,695.61. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $352,440.77. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Cousins Properties Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE CUZ opened at $31.43 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $29.75 and a 200 day moving average of $26.25. The company has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a PE ratio of 95.24, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Cousins Properties Incorporated has a 1 year low of $17.85 and a 1 year high of $32.17.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.60). The company had revenue of $209.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $212.54 million. Cousins Properties had a return on equity of 1.14% and a net margin of 6.17%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Cousins Properties Incorporated will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 3rd. Cousins Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 387.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CUZ. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Cousins Properties from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Cousins Properties from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Cousins Properties from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays increased their price target on Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Cousins Properties from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.50.

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.