Cousins Properties Incorporated $CUZ Stock: Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Lowers Stake

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 159,376 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 18,652 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Cousins Properties were worth $4,405,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CUZ. BROOKFIELD Corp ON purchased a new position in shares of Cousins Properties during the 1st quarter worth about $5,552,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in Cousins Properties by 474.1% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 292,324 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,764,000 after purchasing an additional 241,401 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Cousins Properties in the 2nd quarter worth about $7,084,000. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Cousins Properties by 211.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 98,028 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,213,000 after purchasing an additional 66,585 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Cousins Properties by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,085,544 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $24,508,000 after purchasing an additional 289,701 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.38% of the company’s stock.

Cousins Properties Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:CUZ traded up $0.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $29.61. 1,679,365 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,450,851. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Cousins Properties Incorporated has a 12-month low of $21.03 and a 12-month high of $32.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a PE ratio of 329.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.17.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10. Cousins Properties had a return on equity of 0.33% and a net margin of 1.42%. The firm had revenue of $259.42 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $264.23 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. Cousins Properties’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Cousins Properties Incorporated will post 2.97 EPS for the current year.

Cousins Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 5th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 5th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. Cousins Properties’s payout ratio is 1,422.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CUZ shares. Wall Street Zen raised Cousins Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Barclays raised their price target on Cousins Properties from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Cousins Properties in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Cousins Properties from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Mizuho set a $34.00 price objective on Cousins Properties in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jeffrey Symes sold 6,033 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.44, for a total transaction of $177,611.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 16,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $491,206.40. This represents a 26.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Cousins Properties Company Profile

Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE: CUZ) is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust that owns, develops, and manages primarily Class A office properties. The company focuses on high-quality buildings designed to serve businesses across a range of industries, with services that include property management, leasing, development, and asset operations.

Founded in 1958 by Thomas G. Cousins, the company has developed a longstanding presence in the commercial real estate industry.