Insider Selling: Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) CFO Sells 71,097 Shares of Stock

Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) CFO Gregg D. Adzema sold 71,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 85,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,001,676.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Cousins Properties Stock Performance

Shares of CUZ opened at $23.44 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $23.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.30. Cousins Properties Incorporated has a 52 week low of $17.40 and a 52 week high of $25.19. The stock has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 1.27.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.09 EPS 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 company had revenue of $209.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $199.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cousins Properties Incorporated will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.46%. Cousins Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 261.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CUZ shares. Barclays reduced their target price on Cousins Properties from $29.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Cousins Properties from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Cousins Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cousins Properties

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Cousins Properties by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 53,547 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,091,000 after acquiring an additional 4,884 shares in the last quarter. PGGM Investments lifted its position in Cousins Properties by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 2,046,403 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $41,685,000 after acquiring an additional 50,956 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Cousins Properties in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,538,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Cousins Properties by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 84,730 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,063,000 after acquiring an additional 3,592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Cousins Properties by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 235,515 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,797,000 after acquiring an additional 55,783 shares in the last quarter. 94.38% of the stock is owned by 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.