Mizuho Upgrades Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) to Neutral

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) was upgraded by analysts at Mizuho from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $30.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their previous price target of $22.00. Mizuho’s target price suggests a potential upside of 1.39% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Cousins Properties from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $31.00 to $32.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Cousins Properties from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $34.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cousins Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cousins Properties presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.11.

Cousins Properties Price Performance

Shares of Cousins Properties stock opened at $29.59 on Tuesday. Cousins Properties has a one year low of $21.58 and a one year high of $32.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.67, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $30.84 and its 200 day moving average is $28.64.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cousins Properties

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CUZ. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Cousins Properties by 3,768.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,337,416 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $68,907,000 after acquiring an additional 2,276,986 shares during the last quarter. Rush Island Management LP bought a new stake in Cousins Properties during the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,393,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Cousins Properties by 411.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,113,403 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,823,000 after buying an additional 895,917 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Cousins Properties during the third quarter worth approximately $20,276,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 368.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 781,947 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $23,052,000 after purchasing an additional 615,118 shares during the period. 94.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Cousins Properties

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.