Cohen & Steers (NYSE:CNS) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Cohen & Steers Inc (NYSE:CNS)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $70.20, but opened at $73.97. Cohen & Steers shares last traded at $73.3740, with a volume of 6,718 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on CNS. Weiss Ratings upgraded Cohen & Steers from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded Cohen & Steers from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Evercore set a $76.00 target price on Cohen & Steers in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.00.

Cohen & Steers Stock Up 0.8%

The company has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a PE ratio of 24.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.68.

Cohen & Steers (NYSE:CNS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The asset manager reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $144.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $140.62 million. Cohen & Steers had a net margin of 27.47% and a return on equity of 27.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cohen & Steers Inc will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cohen & Steers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Cohen & Steers’s payout ratio is currently 88.45%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cohen & Steers

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CNS. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cohen & Steers by 215.6% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 770,149 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $48,350,000 after buying an additional 526,096 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cohen & Steers in the 4th quarter valued at $30,232,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cohen & Steers by 385.6% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 438,826 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,549,000 after buying an additional 348,452 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Cohen & Steers by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,465,698 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $185,790,000 after buying an additional 323,759 shares during the period. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Cohen & Steers in the 3rd quarter valued at $12,138,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.47% of the company’s stock.

About Cohen & Steers

Cohen & Steers, Inc is a publicly traded investment management firm specializing in real estate securities and alternative income strategies. Founded in 1986 by Martin Cohen and Robert Steers, the company has built a reputation for expertise in listed real estate investment trusts (REITs) and related equities. Headquartered in New York City, Cohen & Steers applies a research-driven approach to identify value and income opportunities across global property markets.

The firm offers a diverse range of investment products, including mutual funds, closed-end funds, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).