Cousins Properties Inc. (CUZ) is dedicatedly following its strategic portfolio-restructuring plan to simplify its business. Moreover, the company is focusing on improving leasing volumes at its owned and under-construction assets through inking long-term lease deals with high-end tenants.

Last month, Cousins Properties disclosed that its Class-A office development project – Colorado Tower – in downtown Austin is 95% pre-leased. In particular, the company inked five lease deals with prominent tenants including Parsley Energy, Inc. (PE) and Invesco Management Group, Inc. In September itself, the company inked three deals for leasing its Class A office asset – One Ninety One Peachtree Tower – in downtown Atlanta. With this, the property’s leasing volume upped to 92% – the highest level since its acquisition by the company in 2006. Such deals depict solid demand of Cousins Properties’ assets and enhance its tenant roster.

Moreover, in Aug 2014, Cousins Properties inked deals to buy two trophy office assets – Fifth Third Center and Northpark Town Center – in Charlotte, NC and Atlanta, GA, respectively. The acquisitions of such trophy assets in the best urban submarkets of the U.S will bode well for Cousins Properties’ long-term growth.

In July, Cousins Properties came up with another impressive performance in second-quarter 2014, with FFO per share of 18 cents exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny and the prior-year quarter figure by 6 cents. A two-fold rise in quarterly revenues was the driver.

However, though the U.S office sector fundamentals are improving, the current pace is moderate. Hence, pressure on rent and occupancies is expected to continue. In addition, increasing Internet sales that adversely impact the demand for the company’s retail space could limit its growth prospects.

For deeper insight into Cousins Properties, you can refer to our updated research report that was issued on Oct 14, 2014.

Over the last 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for FFO per share for both 2014 and 2015 moved up by a penny and 2 cents to 75 cents and 84 cents per share, respectively. Consequently, this real estate investment trust (:REIT) currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Stocks That Warrant a Look

Other better-ranked stocks are W. P. Carey Inc.(WPC) and First Industrial Realty Trust Inc. (FR). Both stocks carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Note: FFO, a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs, is obtained after adding depreciation and amortization and other non-cash expenses to net income.

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