Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Dividend Announcement

Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $29.77 and last traded at $29.50, with a volume of 957940 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $28.97.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.36%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. Cousins Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 261.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CUZ. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Cousins Properties from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Cousins Properties from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Cousins Properties from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Cousins Properties from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Cousins Properties from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cousins Properties has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.29.

Cousins Properties Trading Down 0.2 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $27.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.78, a P/E/G ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 1.31.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.61). Cousins Properties had a net margin of 7.25% and a return on equity of 1.31%. The company had revenue of $212.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $208.18 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.75 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cousins Properties Incorporated will post 2.67 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cousins Properties

In other Cousins Properties news, CAO Jeffrey D. Symes sold 5,997 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.13, for a total transaction of $168,695.61. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,529 shares in the company, valued at $352,440.77. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cousins Properties

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of 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 worth $2,128,000 after buying an additional 486 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its holdings in 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 worth $4,582,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Cousins Properties by 2.2% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 23,534 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the period. 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 purchasing an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 5.1% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 15,952 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.38% of the company’s stock.

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.