Short Interest in Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) Drops By 15.4%

by · The Cerbat Gem

Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,300,000 shares, a decline of 15.4% from the September 15th total of 3,900,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,150,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Cousins Properties Trading Up 2.4 %

NYSE CUZ traded up $0.71 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $30.27. 860,851 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,318,704. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.73, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.22. Cousins Properties has a one year low of $17.40 and a one year high of $30.50.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.61). Cousins Properties had a return on equity of 1.31% and a net margin of 7.25%. The business had revenue of $212.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $208.18 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.75 earnings per share. Cousins Properties’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Cousins Properties will post 2.67 EPS for the current year.

Cousins Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.23%. Cousins Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 261.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CUZ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Cousins Properties from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Cousins Properties from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Cousins Properties from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Cousins Properties from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.00.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Cousins Properties

Insider Buying and Selling at Cousins Properties

In other Cousins Properties news, CAO Jeffrey D. Symes sold 5,997 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.13, for a total transaction of $168,695.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,529 shares in the company, valued at $352,440.77. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cousins Properties

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CUZ. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 36.2% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 29,316 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $864,000 after acquiring an additional 7,788 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 74.6% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,298 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 14.0% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 36,620 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,080,000 after buying an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Cousins Properties by 4.7% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 159,830 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,712,000 after buying an additional 7,118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Cousins Properties in the 2nd quarter valued at $115,000. Institutional investors own 94.38% of the company’s stock.

Cousins Properties Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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