Dean Investment Associates LLC Buys 1,900 Shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ)

Dean Investment Associates LLC boosted its stake in Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 59,168 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Dean Investment Associates LLC’s holdings in Cousins Properties were worth $1,813,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 65.8% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 147,146 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,509,000 after purchasing an additional 58,419 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Cousins Properties by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 64,218 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,968,000 after buying an additional 16,605 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 57,331 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,757,000 after buying an additional 1,869 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 70,760 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,168,000 after buying an additional 4,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,085,304 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,254,000 after acquiring an additional 76,168 shares during the period. 94.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho raised shares of Cousins Properties from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $30.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Cousins Properties in a report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Cousins Properties from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays cut their price target on Cousins Properties from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Cousins Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.70.

Cousins Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CUZ opened at $26.82 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $28.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.97. 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 market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.41, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.24. Cousins Properties Incorporated has a one year low of $21.77 and a one year high of $32.55.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.62. Cousins Properties had a return on equity of 1.00% and a net margin of 5.36%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Cousins Properties Incorporated will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cousins Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.77%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. Cousins Properties’s payout ratio is currently 426.67%.

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.