Cousins Properties Inc (CUZ) stock analysis
Close on Nov 11, 2026Market cap $4.88BP/E 329.3Yield 4.32%
StockData Score
Prices as of Nov 11, 2026How the score works
Weak8 of 30 checks passed
Cousins Properties passes 8 of the 30 checks behind our score; 5 could not be run for lack of data and count as not passed. Each dot in the shape is one check — hover it for the numbers.
- Valuation
- 3/6
- Growth
- 2/6
- Past performance
- 1/6
- Financial health
- 0/6
- Dividend
- 2/6
What stands out
Trading below fair value
The share price of $29.64 is below our fair value estimate of $34.75.
Return on capital over 10%
Return on invested capital was 12.3%, above the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.
Guidance raised
Cousins Properties raised its year ending December 31, 2026 Net income outlook on Jul 30, 2026.
EV/EBITDA below its 5-year median
Cousins Properties's EV/EBITDA of 4.3 is below its 5-year median of 4.4.
What to watch
Margin of safety under 20%
The price is 14.7% below fair value, less than the 20% cushion we look for.
Return on equity under 15%
Return on equity was 0.3% over the last twelve months and averaged 2.7% over five years; we look for 15% on both.
Earnings shrank over 5 years
Net income shrank 29.8% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.
Revenue growing under 10% a year
Revenue grew 9.2% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.
Valuation3/6
P/E above its 5-year median
Cousins Properties's P/E of 329.3 is above its own 5-year median of 45.7.
P/E above the industry
Cousins Properties's P/E of 329.3 is above the Miscellaneous Investing median of 26.3.
EV/EBITDA below its 5-year median
Cousins Properties's EV/EBITDA of 4.3 is below its 5-year median of 4.4.
P/B below the industry
Cousins Properties's price-to-book of 1.10 is below the Miscellaneous Investing median of 1.20.
Trading below fair value
The share price of $29.64 is below our fair value estimate of $34.75.
Margin of safety under 20%
The price is 14.7% below fair value, less than the 20% cushion we look for.
Growth2/6
Revenue growing under 10% a year
Revenue grew 9.2% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.
EPS growing under 10% a year
Diluted EPS grew -40.0% a year over the last three fiscal years.
Earnings growth not accelerating
Net income grew -74.2% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of -29.8% a year.
Growing faster than the industry
Revenue grew 8.5% over the last twelve months; the Miscellaneous Investing median is 4.6%.
Guidance raised
Cousins Properties raised its year ending December 31, 2026 Net income outlook on Jul 30, 2026.
Gross margin slipping
Gross margin was 68.4% over the last twelve months, against 68.4% a year earlier.
Past performance1/6
Return on equity under 15%
Return on equity was 0.3% over the last twelve months and averaged 2.7% over five years; we look for 15% on both.
Return on capital over 10%
Return on invested capital was 12.3%, above the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.
Return on equity below the industry
Cousins Properties's return on equity of 0.3% is below the Miscellaneous Investing median of 3.1%.
Earnings shrank over 5 years
Net income shrank 29.8% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.
Net margin below its 5-year average
Net margin was 1.4% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 15.7%.
Net margin below the industry
Cousins Properties's net margin of 1.4% is below the Miscellaneous Investing median of 10.3%.
Financial health0/6
Debt level
Needs debt and equity figures.
Debt trend
Needs a balance sheet from five years ago with positive equity.
Debt coverage
Needs operating cash flow.
Interest not well covered
Operating income covers interest expense 4.0 times; we look for at least 5.
Short-term liquidity
The balance sheet is not split into current and non-current items.
Elevated bankruptcy risk
The Altman Z-score is 1.05; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.
Dividend2/6
Pays a dividend
Cousins Properties paid dividends worth 4.3% of the share price over the last twelve months.
Yield below Treasuries
The 4.3% yield is below the 4.4% on a 1-year Treasury.
Yield in the top quarter
The top quarter of US dividend payers yield 3.8% or more; Cousins Properties yields 4.3%.
Dividend was cut
The dividend per share fell by more than 10% at least once in the last 10 fiscal years.
Not covered by earnings
Dividends take 1445% of net income, leaving little room.
Cash-flow cover
Needs dividends paid and free cash flow.
Fair value
How we estimate itOur estimate per share
$34.75
The share price is 15% below this estimate.
| Method | Multiple used | Own 5Y median | Industry median | Value per share | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P/Eleft out, too far from the others | 36.1× | 45.7× | 26.3× | $3.25 | – |
| EV/EBITDA | 6.9× | 4.4× | 9.5× | $47.99 | 58% |
| P/B | 1.1× | 0.9× | 1.2× | $28.58 | 17% |
| Earnings power | 9.4% cost of equity | – | – | $7.97 | 25% |
| Fair value | $34.75 | 100% | |||
Valuation over time
Using the earnings and balance sheet published at each date, not today's.
- P/E at month end
- Own 5-year median 45.7
- Miscellaneous Investing median 26.3
An estimate from reported numbers and market multiples, not a price target or investment advice. It can be far off for companies whose profits are about to change sharply.
Market risk
From the past year of daily prices.
Liquidity
Low risk
- Average value traded per day
- $43.01M
- Value traded per 1% price move
- $34.62M
Downside
Low risk
- Typical loss in a bad month
- 11.8%
- Volatility (annualized)
- 27%
- Sharpe ratio, 1 year
- 0.38
- Beta to the S&P 500 (5Y)
- 0.91
Typical bad-month loss, week by week
Margins
Share of revenue, fiscal years 2011 to 2025
Gross margin
Operating margin
Net margin
Growth rates
Compound annual growth to fiscal 2025
| Per year | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years | 10 years | Five-year pace |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | +16.0% | +9.2% | +6.1% | +17.1% | |
| Gross profit | +17.9% | +10.5% | +6.8% | – | |
| Operating income | +18.1% | +10.3% | +6.7% | +10.8% | |
| Net income | -11.9% | -37.6% | -29.8% | -10.7% | |
| EPS, diluted | -20.0% | -40.0% | -31.6% | -20.3% | |
| Free cash flow | -8.4% | +80.6% | – | – | |
| Dividend per share | 0.0% | 0.0% | +1.3% | 0.0% |
Returns and balance sheet
10 fiscal years. Hover a measure to see how it is calculated.
| Measure | FY2016 | FY2020 | FY2025 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | 3.8% | 5.4% | 0.9% | |
| Return on assets | 2.3% | 3.3% | 0.5% | |
| Interest coverage | 9.8× | 8.0× | 4.2× | |
| Capex to revenue | – | – | 26.9% | |
| Diluted shares | 64M | 149M | 169M |
Cash use needs five years of cash flow figures
Cousins Properties does not report operating cash flow and capital expenditure for each of the last five fiscal years.
DuPont analysis
Return on equity split into margin, efficiency and leverage
| Fiscal year | Net margin | Asset turnover | Equity multiplier | Return on equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | 4.1% | 0.11× | 1.86× | 0.9% |
| FY2024 | 5.4% | 0.10× | 1.75× | 1.0% |
| FY2023 | 10.3% | 0.11× | 1.66× | 1.8% |
| FY2022 | 21.9% | 0.10× | 1.62× | 3.6% |
| FY2021 | 36.9% | 0.10× | 1.60× | 6.2% |
| FY2020 | 32.0% | 0.10× | 1.62× | 5.4% |
| FY2016 | 30.5% | 0.08× | 1.63× | 3.8% |
Piotroski F-Score
Nine tests of profitability, balance sheet and efficiency, fiscal 2025 against fiscal 2024
- ProfitableNet income above zero$40.50M
- Cash generatingOperating cash flow above zero$402.28M
- Return on assets improvedROA up on the prior year0.6% → 0.5%
- Earnings backed by cashOperating cash flow above net income$402.28M vs $40.50M
- Less leverageLong-term debt to assets fell– → –
- Better liquidityCurrent ratio rose– → –
- No dilutionShare count did not rise154M → 169M
- Gross margin improvedGross margin up on the prior year67.24% → 68.35%
- More efficientAsset turnover rose0.11 → 0.11
See a number that looks wrong?