Cousins Properties Inc. (CUZ)
NYSE:CUZ
Top Page
Cousins Properties
(NYSE:CUZ)
Select Model
Select Model
Rating:54Neutral
Price Target:
$23.00
▲(0.52% Upside)
Action:ReiteratedDate:04/02/26
The score is held back primarily by weakening profitability and inconsistent free cash flow despite stable operating cash flow and moderate leverage. Technicals are also soft with the price below key moving averages and negative MACD. Offsetting these are a supportive earnings outlook featuring continued FFO growth and strong leasing momentum, plus positive corporate financing/liquidity actions; valuation remains a constraint due to the very high P/E despite a solid dividend yield.
Positive Factors
Robust Leasing Velocity
Sustained, high leasing velocity and a deep late-stage pipeline improve long-term cash flow visibility and lower vacancy risk. Large new/expansion leases indicate demand for its product, supporting rental growth, renewal economics, and the ability to reprice space over multiple quarters to drive durable FFO growth.
Negative Factors
Weakening Profitability
Declining net margins and a slight loss in 2025 weaken the company’s ability to convert revenue into distributable earnings. Persistent margin pressure reduces retained cash for reinvestment, weakens ROE, and makes distributions and development funding more sensitive to leasing mix and downside shocks.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Robust Leasing Velocity
Sustained, high leasing velocity and a deep late-stage pipeline improve long-term cash flow visibility and lower vacancy risk. Large new/expansion leases indicate demand for its product, supporting rental growth, renewal economics, and the ability to reprice space over multiple quarters to drive durable FFO growth.
Read all positive factors
Cousins Properties (CUZ) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$3.84B
Dividend Yield5.08%
Average Volume (3M)1.98M
Price to Earnings (P/E)106.9
Beta (1Y)0.84
Revenue Growth16.38%
EPS Growth3.60%
CountryUS
Employees306
SectorReal Estate
Sector Strength53
IndustryREIT - Office
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)-0.02
Shares Outstanding167,982,000
10 Day Avg. Volume2,019,015
30 Day Avg. Volume1,979,100
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio-5.34
Price to Book (P/B)0.93
Price to Sales (P/S)4.36
P/FCF Ratio32.06
Enterprise Value/Market Cap1.95
Enterprise Value/Revenue7.56
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit13.13
Enterprise Value/Ebitda11.88
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$27.57Price Target Upside20.50% Upside
Rating ConsensusStrong Buy
Number of Analyst Covering7
EPS Forecast (FY)0.27
Revenue Forecast (FY)$1.04B
Cousins Properties Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
Cousins Properties is a fully integrated, self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company, based in Atlanta, GA and acting through its operating partnership, Cousins Properties LP, primarily invests in Class A o...
How the Company Makes Money
Cousins Properties makes money primarily by generating rental and related property income from its portfolio of office buildings. The main revenue stream is base rent paid by tenants under office lease agreements, typically contracted over multi-y...
Cousins Properties Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Feb 05, 2026
(Q4-2025)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Apr 29, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call presented multiple strong operational and financial positives: solid FFO growth in 2025, very high leasing velocity and a robust pipeline, a strategic trophy acquisition with upside, healthy project leasing (Hayden Ferry, Neuhoff), and a strong balance sheet that supports opportunistic capital deployment. Offsetting items include the Bank of America lease expiration's negative impact on occupancy/NOI, elevated concessions and lower net effective rents (notably at Northpark), impairments tied to dispositions, and the assumption of additional asset sales to fund acquisitions. Management acknowledged timing risk around lease commencements and provided modest 2026 FFO guidance (lower growth than 2025). Overall, the operational momentum and capital flexibility outweigh the headwinds, but execution and timing of dispositions, lease commencements and refinancings remain key risks.Positive Updates
Strong Full-Year and Quarterly FFO Performance
FFO of $0.71 per share in Q4 (in line with consensus) and full-year 2025 FFO of $2.84 per share, representing 5.6% growth versus 2024; 2026 FFO guidance midpoint of $2.92 implies ~2.8% growth year-over-year and marks a third consecutive year of FFO growth.
Negative Updates
Impact of Bank of America Lease Expiration
Bank of America's expiration at 201 North Tryon materially impacted occupancy and same-property results; Charlotte occupancy was the one market that declined this quarter and the departure negatively affected consolidated NOI and occupancy metrics.
Read all updates
Q4-2025 Updates
Positive
Negative
Strong Full-Year and Quarterly FFO Performance
FFO of $0.71 per share in Q4 (in line with consensus) and full-year 2025 FFO of $2.84 per share, representing 5.6% growth versus 2024; 2026 FFO guidance midpoint of $2.92 implies ~2.8% growth year-over-year and marks a third consecutive year of FFO growth.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Cousins introduced 2026 FFO guidance of $2.87–$2.97 per share (midpoint $2.92), which implies ~2.8% growth versus 2025 FFO of $2.84 and would be the third consecutive year of FFO growth (about a 3.7% CAGR over the period cited); the plan assumes refinancing roughly $465 million of debt maturing Aug–Oct 2026 (management cited unsecured debt pricing advantage, roughly ~5% for 7‑year and ~5.4% for 10‑year if done today), funding for the 300 South Tryon acquisition modeled using proceeds from Harbourview ($39.5M) and Tremont ($23.7M) sales plus roughly $200M of additional noncore asset dispositions, inclusion of an $18.2M mezzanine loan repayment, and does not bake in any additional property acquisitions or development starts (management will revise guidance if such activity occurs); management also noted 2.9M shares sold via ATM on a forward basis at an average gross price of $30.44 (not yet settled).Cousins Properties Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
42
Neutral
Balance Sheet
58
Neutral
Cash Flow
55
Neutral
| Breakdown | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | |||||
| Total Revenue | 993.82M | 856.76M | 802.87M | 762.29M | 755.07M |
| Gross Profit | 263.42M | 576.10M | 536.44M | 503.92M | 495.61M |
| EBITDA | 638.33M | 534.10M | 504.18M | 535.57M | 634.12M |
| Net Income | 40.50M | 45.96M | 82.96M | 166.79M | 278.59M |
Balance Sheet | |||||
| Total Assets | 8.89B | 8.80B | 7.63B | 7.54B | 7.31B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 5.72M | 7.35M | 6.05M | 5.14M | 8.94M |
| Total Debt | 3.68B | 3.15B | 2.51B | 2.39B | 2.29B |
| Total Liabilities | 4.19B | 3.93B | 3.09B | 2.89B | 2.71B |
| Stockholders Equity | 4.68B | 4.85B | 4.52B | 4.63B | 4.57B |
Cash Flow | |||||
| Free Cash Flow | 135.04M | 147.50M | 88.84M | 22.93M | 389.48M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 402.27M | 400.23M | 368.36M | 365.17M | 389.48M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -425.66M | -1.31B | -295.74M | -334.50M | -191.07M |
| Financing Cash Flow | 21.76M | 906.47M | -71.72M | -35.69M | -194.38M |
Cousins Properties Technical Analysis
Neutral
22.88
Price Trends
23.00
Negative
24.03
Negative
25.48
Negative
Market Momentum
-0.16
Negative
54.78
Neutral
75.33
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For CUZ, the sentiment is Neutral. The current price of 22.88 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 22.11, below the 50-day MA of 23.00, and below the 200-day MA of 25.48, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of -0.16 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 54.78 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 75.33 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Neutral sentiment for CUZ.
Cousins Properties Risk Analysis
Cousins Properties disclosed 26 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Cousins Properties reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
Cousins Properties Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (65)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
71 Outperform | $7.28B | 20.54 | 10.14% | 4.30% | 0.06% | 8.88% | |
65 Neutral | $2.17B | 12.19 | 3.79% | 4.94% | 3.15% | 1.96% | |
57 Neutral | $3.38B | 89.50 | 5.11% | 5.75% | 0.77% | 62.58% | |
56 Neutral | $2.46B | 24.27 | 6.69% | 7.83% | -2.10% | -13.30% | |
54 Neutral | $3.84B | 106.88 | 0.85% | 5.08% | 16.38% | 3.60% | |
51 Neutral | $2.92B | -38.62 | -2.25% | 6.95% | 8.60% | ― | |
45 Neutral | $1.62B | -67.23 | 0.82% | 6.45% | -0.12% | ― |
* Real Estate Sector Average
CUZ
Cousins Properties
22.88
-2.30
-9.14%
DEI
Douglas Emmett
9.68
-3.31
-25.49%
HIW
Highwoods Properties
22.42
-2.82
-11.19%
KRC
Kilroy Realty
28.22
-0.86
-2.96%
SLG
SL Green Realty
38.42
-10.34
-21.21%
CDP
COPT Defense Properties
32.24
7.38
29.67%
Cousins Properties Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyPrivate Placements and Financing
Cousins Properties Expands Revolving Credit Facility, Extends Maturities
Positive
Apr 1, 2026
On April 1, 2026, Cousins Properties entered into a Sixth Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, creating a new $1.2 billion senior unsecured revolving credit facility that extends the maturity of its prior line of credit to April 1, 2031. The fac...
Business Operations and StrategyFinancial DisclosuresPrivate Placements and Financing
Cousins Properties Highlights Sun Belt Office Growth Strategy
Positive
Mar 9, 2026
On March 9, 2026, Cousins Properties released an investor presentation ahead of meetings in New York outlining how its Sun Belt lifestyle office portfolio is positioned to benefit from sector trends such as the post-pandemic “flight to quali...
Private Placements and FinancingRegulatory Filings and Compliance
Cousins Properties Issues New Senior Notes for Financing
Positive
Feb 20, 2026
On February 10, 2026, Cousins Properties LP and Cousins Properties Incorporated entered into an underwriting agreement with J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, BofA Securities, Inc., Morgan Stanley Co. LLC and PNC Capital Markets LLC for the sale and pur...
Business Operations and StrategyStock Buyback
Cousins Properties Authorizes $250 Million Share Repurchase Program
Positive
Feb 17, 2026
On February 17, 2026, Cousins Properties announced that its board had authorized a new share repurchase program allowing the company to buy back up to $250 million of its outstanding common stock. The move underscores management’s willingnes...
Business Operations and StrategyM&A Transactions
Cousins Properties Expands Charlotte Portfolio With Major Acquisition
Positive
Feb 5, 2026
On February 5, 2026, Cousins Properties announced that it acquired 300 South Tryon, a 638,000-square-foot lifestyle office tower in the Uptown submarket of Charlotte, for $317.5 million, with the transaction having closed on February 2, 2026. Buil...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.