Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Meets Estimates

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The real estate investment trust reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.10, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $259.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $264.23 million. Cousins Properties had a net margin of 0.62% and a return on equity of 0.14%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.69 EPS.

Cousins Properties Stock Performance

Shares of Cousins Properties stock traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $29.31. 541,751 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,820,697. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 733.18, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.19. Cousins Properties has a 12-month low of $21.03 and a 12-month high of $32.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.97.

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, October 5th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 5th. Cousins Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3,200.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on CUZ. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Cousins Properties from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Cousins Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Evercore set a $33.00 target price on Cousins Properties in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Mizuho set a $34.00 price target on Cousins Properties in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Cousins Properties in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cousins Properties currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.50.

About Cousins Properties

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.