Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

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

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on CUZ. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Cousins Properties from $29.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Cousins Properties from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.67.

Cousins Properties Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE CUZ traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $23.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,480,223 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,584,916. Cousins Properties has a 52-week low of $17.40 and a 52-week high of $25.19. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.27.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.09 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $199.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Cousins Properties will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Gregg D. Adzema sold 71,097 shares of Cousins Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.31, for a total transaction of $1,657,271.07. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 85,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,001,676.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in Cousins Properties by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 88,588 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,128,000 after buying an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 0.3% in the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 190,589 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,582,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 1.4% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 43,192 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $880,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 67,107 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,634,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the period. Finally, abrdn plc raised its holdings in Cousins Properties by 2.5% during the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 30,857 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $629,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. 94.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.