StockNews.com Upgrades Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) to Hold

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on CUZ. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Cousins Properties from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Cousins Properties in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $35.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Cousins Properties from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Cousins Properties from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.70.

Cousins Properties Stock Performance

NYSE:CUZ opened at $28.09 on Thursday. Cousins Properties has a 1-year low of $22.01 and a 1-year high of $32.55. The stock has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.63, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.34. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $27.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.69.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cousins Properties

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Resolution Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Cousins Properties during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $135,094,000. GRS Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Cousins Properties in the fourth quarter valued at $63,759,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Cousins Properties in the fourth quarter valued at $57,194,000. Rush Island Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 91.4% during the fourth quarter. Rush Island Management LP now owns 3,011,843 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $92,283,000 after acquiring an additional 1,438,127 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,491,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $413,375,000 after acquiring an additional 1,350,352 shares during the last quarter. 94.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.