Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) in a report released on Monday. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $35.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 22.05% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. KeyCorp upgraded 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. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Cousins Properties from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Mizuho raised Cousins Properties from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $22.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Cousins Properties from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $31.00 to $32.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Cousins Properties from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cousins Properties currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.89.

Cousins Properties Price Performance

Cousins Properties stock opened at $28.68 on Monday. Cousins Properties has a 52-week low of $21.58 and a 52-week high of $32.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $29.94 and a 200-day moving average of $30.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 95.59, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.28.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.62. Cousins Properties had a net margin of 5.36% and a return on equity of 1.00%. As a group, analysts predict that Cousins Properties will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CUZ. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 1,609.3% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 923 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 67.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 981 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 49.7% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,319 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Cousins Properties in the 4th quarter worth approximately $85,000. Finally, FIL Ltd raised its position in Cousins Properties by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 3,262 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares during the period. 94.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.