Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) shares saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 770,675 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 40% from the previous session’s volume of 1,283,425 shares.The stock last traded at $30.27 and had previously closed at $30.12.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on CUZ shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Cousins Properties from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Cousins Properties from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com raised Cousins Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Cousins Properties from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $31.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cousins Properties has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.57.

Cousins Properties Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.59. The company has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a PE ratio of 91.21, a P/E/G ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.60). Cousins Properties had a return on equity of 1.14% and a net margin of 6.17%. The company had revenue of $209.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $212.54 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Cousins Properties Incorporated will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Cousins Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.25%. Cousins Properties’s payout ratio is 387.88%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cousins Properties

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CUZ. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Cousins Properties by 49.7% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,319 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Cousins Properties by 130.8% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,514 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 858 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 30.8% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,765 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 74.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,976 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 1,697 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 1,836 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.