MQS Management LLC Sells 17,213 Shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ)

MQS Management LLC lowered its stake in Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) by 71.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,848 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 17,213 shares during the quarter. MQS Management LLC’s holdings in Cousins Properties were worth $202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Cousins Properties by 130.8% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,514 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 858 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Cousins Properties by 3,236.7% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,635 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,586 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Cousins Properties in the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Cousins Properties by 30.8% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,765 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in Cousins Properties by 74.6% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,298 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 1,836 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.38% of the company’s stock.

Cousins Properties Price Performance

Shares of CUZ opened at $30.65 on Friday. Cousins Properties Incorporated has a 1-year low of $19.45 and a 1-year high of $32.44. The company has a market cap of $4.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.88, a PEG ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.60). Cousins Properties had a net margin of 6.17% and a return on equity of 1.14%. The company had revenue of $209.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.54 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. Cousins Properties’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Cousins Properties Incorporated will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.18%. Cousins Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 387.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cousins Properties

In related news, CAO Jeffrey D. Symes sold 5,997 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.13, for a total value of $168,695.61. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $352,440.77. This represents a 32.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CUZ. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Cousins Properties from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Cousins Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Cousins Properties from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Cousins Properties from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Cousins Properties from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.50.

Cousins Properties 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.