Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) Upgraded to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on CUZ. Barclays boosted their price target on Cousins Properties from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Cousins Properties from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Cousins Properties from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of Cousins Properties in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Cousins Properties from $24.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cousins Properties has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.91.

Cousins Properties Price Performance

CUZ opened at $31.56 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 789.15, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.19. Cousins Properties has a 1 year low of $21.03 and a 1 year high of $32.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $29.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.18.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.58). Cousins Properties had a net margin of 0.62% and a return on equity of 0.14%. The firm had revenue of $268.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $263.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Cousins Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.920-2.980 EPS. Analysts forecast that Cousins Properties will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 6th were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 6th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Cousins Properties’s payout ratio is currently 3,200.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CUZ. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 92.3% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 755 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Cousins Properties by 25.6% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,175 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Cousins Properties by 63.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,124,141 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,372,000 after purchasing an additional 436,396 shares during the period. Amundi grew its holdings in Cousins Properties by 6.5% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 96,454 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,177,000 after purchasing an additional 5,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Cousins Properties by 23.3% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,248 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.38% of the company’s stock.

Key Cousins Properties News

Here are the key news stories impacting Cousins Properties this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Core real estate results were strong: second-quarter funds from operations (FFO) increased to $0.75 per share from $0.70 a year earlier and exceeded the $0.74 consensus estimate. Same-property cash NOI rose 5.9%, while second-generation cash rents increased 9.2%. CUZ Q2 FFO Beats Estimates on Leasing, Revenues Top, Rents Improve
• Positive Sentiment: Leasing momentum improved, with 924,000 square feet of office leases completed during the quarter. Portfolio occupancy reached 92.8%, the highest level since the first quarter of 2020, supporting expectations for continued revenue growth. Cousins Properties Q2 Net Income Rises to $26.2 Million
• Positive Sentiment: Cousins raised the midpoint of its 2026 outlook and now expects FFO of $2.92 to $2.98 per share, broadly consistent with the $2.95 analyst consensus. The company also sold Research Park Plaza V in Austin for $42 million, generating a $9.2 million gain. Cousins Properties Releases Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Management’s earnings call highlighted improving leasing conditions and rent growth, but investors may continue to monitor the pace and durability of the office-market recovery. Cousins Properties Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: GAAP EPS was $0.16, well below the $0.74 consensus estimate, and declined from $0.70 a year earlier. The sharp difference between GAAP earnings and FFO, the key REIT profitability measure, likely contributed to the weaker market reaction despite the operating beat. Cousins Properties Tops Q2 FFO and Revenue Estimates

Cousins Properties Company Profile

Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE: CUZ) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in the development, acquisition and management of high-quality office and mixed-use properties. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company focuses on urban infill and suburban markets across the Sun Belt, with a strong presence in metropolitan areas such as Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Nashville, Orlando and Tampa. Its core activities encompass full-service property leasing, asset management and construction oversight, serving a diverse mix of corporate and institutional tenants.

Founded in 1958 as a privately held real estate concern, Cousins Properties completed its initial public offering in 1992.