Reviewing Cousins Properties (CUZ) and Its Competitors

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) is one of 59 publicly-traded companies in the “Office REITs” industry, but how does it contrast to its rivals? We will compare Cousins Properties to related companies based on the strength of its institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, dividends and risk.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Cousins Properties and its rivals gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cousins Properties	$1.05 billion	$40.50 million	329.04
Cousins Properties Competitors	$531.46 million	-$49.56 million	14.98

Cousins Properties has higher revenue and earnings than its rivals. Cousins Properties is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

This table compares Cousins Properties and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cousins Properties	1.42%	0.33%	0.17%
Cousins Properties Competitors	-16.89%	-7.44%	-0.13%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Cousins Properties and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cousins Properties	0	2	7	0	2.78
Cousins Properties Competitors	946	2833	2691	25	2.28

Cousins Properties currently has a consensus price target of $31.50, indicating a potential upside of 6.37%. As a group, “Office REITs” companies have a potential upside of 3.37%. Given Cousins Properties’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Cousins Properties is more favorable than its rivals.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

94.4% of Cousins Properties shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.1% of shares of all “Office REITs” companies are held by institutional investors. 1.8% of Cousins Properties shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.9% of shares of all “Office REITs” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Cousins Properties pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Cousins Properties pays out 1,422.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. As a group, “Office REITs” companies pay a dividend yield of 5.0% and pay out -314.7% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Cousins Properties lags its rivals as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Risk and Volatility

Cousins Properties has a beta of 1.17, indicating that its share price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cousins Properties’ rivals have a beta of 1.02, indicating that their average share price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Cousins Properties beats its rivals on 11 of the 15 factors compared.

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. Founded in 1958, Cousins creates shareholder value through its extensive expertise in the development, acquisition, leasing, and management of high-quality real estate assets. The Company has a comprehensive strategy in place based on a simple platform, trophy assets, and opportunistic investments.