Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) Downgraded by StockNews.com

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Cousins Properties from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Cousins Properties from $29.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.67.

Cousins Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CUZ opened at $23.65 on Tuesday. Cousins Properties has a one year low of $17.40 and a one year high of $25.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.27, a PEG ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.54). Cousins Properties had a net margin of 9.15% and a return on equity of 1.62%. The company had revenue of $209.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $199.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Cousins Properties will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Cousins Properties

In other Cousins Properties news, CFO Gregg D. Adzema sold 71,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.31, for a total transaction of $1,657,271.07. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 85,872 shares in the company, valued at $2,001,676.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cousins Properties

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Cousins Properties during the 4th quarter worth $35,502,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Cousins Properties by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,208,784 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $297,284,000 after acquiring an additional 1,407,164 shares during the last quarter. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cousins Properties in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,105,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 916,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 75.6% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,917,908 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $46,107,000 after purchasing an additional 825,547 shares in the last quarter. 94.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Cousins Properties

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.