Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Purchases 13,050 Shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ)

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its position in Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) by 40.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,241 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,050 shares during the quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC’s holdings in Cousins Properties were worth $1,386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 926,239 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,380,000 after purchasing an additional 11,466 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,505,910 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $76,781,000 after purchasing an additional 172,094 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in Cousins Properties by 455.0% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 105,914 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,245,000 after acquiring an additional 86,830 shares during the period. Comerica Bank increased its position in Cousins Properties by 41.7% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 79,075 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,423,000 after acquiring an additional 23,273 shares during the period. Finally, Adelante Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Cousins Properties during the fourth quarter worth $13,379,000. Institutional investors own 94.38% of the company’s stock.

Cousins Properties Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Cousins Properties stock opened at $28.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a PE ratio of 94.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $27.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.63. Cousins Properties Incorporated has a 52-week low of $22.01 and a 52-week high of $32.55.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.03. Cousins Properties had a net margin of 5.36% and a return on equity of 1.00%. The company had revenue of $6.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Cousins Properties Incorporated will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Cousins Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.52%. Cousins Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 387.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CUZ. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Cousins Properties in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Cousins Properties from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Cousins Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Cousins Properties from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.70.

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.