Sei Investments Co. Increases Stock Position in Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ)

Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) by 160.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 534,923 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 329,261 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned approximately 0.34% of Cousins Properties worth $16,390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rush Island Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Cousins Properties during the 3rd quarter worth $46,393,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Cousins Properties by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,491,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $413,375,000 after purchasing an additional 1,350,352 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Cousins Properties by 411.9% during the third 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 worth $32,823,000 after purchasing an additional 895,917 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cousins Properties in the 4th quarter worth about $25,148,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Cousins Properties during the 3rd quarter valued at about $20,276,000. Institutional investors own 94.38% of the company’s stock.

Cousins Properties Price Performance

CUZ stock opened at $29.51 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.37, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $29.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Cousins Properties Incorporated has a 12-month low of $21.58 and a 12-month high of $32.55.

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

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Cousins Properties’s payout ratio is 426.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays dropped their target price on Cousins Properties from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Cousins Properties from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Cousins Properties from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $34.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Cousins Properties from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Cousins Properties from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $30.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.89.

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.