Short Interest in Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) Grows By 19.0%

Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,440,000 shares, a growth of 19.0% from the February 13th total of 4,570,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,420,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days. Approximately 3.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on CUZ. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Cousins Properties from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp raised shares of Cousins Properties from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $34.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho raised shares of Cousins Properties from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $30.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Cousins Properties in a report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Cousins Properties from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.89.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cousins Properties

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Cousins Properties by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 44,154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,353,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,351 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $133,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Cousins Properties by 67.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 981 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Cousins Properties by 49.7% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,319 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Cousins Properties by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 22,667 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $695,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.38% of the company’s stock.

Cousins Properties Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of CUZ traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $29.87. The company had a trading volume of 312,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,205,559. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Cousins Properties has a 1-year low of $21.58 and a 1-year high of $32.55. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.17. The stock has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a PE ratio of 99.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.28.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.62. Cousins Properties had a net margin of 5.36% and a return on equity of 1.00%. Research analysts forecast that Cousins Properties will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cousins Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.29%. Cousins Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 426.67%.

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.