Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) Raised to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

CUZ has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Cousins Properties in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on Cousins Properties from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research upgraded Cousins Properties from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Mizuho raised Cousins Properties from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Cousins Properties from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.70.

Cousins Properties Price Performance

CUZ stock opened at $27.78 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $4.66 billion, a PE ratio of 92.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.24. Cousins Properties has a one year low of $22.01 and a one year high of $32.55.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.03. Cousins Properties had a net margin of 5.36% and a return on equity of 1.00%. The company had revenue of $6.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Cousins Properties will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Cousins Properties

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cousins Properties in the first quarter worth about $363,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 1.3% in the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 47,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,386,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 4.2% in the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 405,662 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,967,000 after purchasing an additional 16,512 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Cousins Properties by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 48,086 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,419,000 after acquiring an additional 3,932 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new stake in Cousins Properties during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $337,000. 94.38% of the stock is owned by 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.