Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) Receives $28.50 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $29.33.

A number of research analysts recently commented on HIW shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Highwoods Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $35.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Truist Financial increased their price target on Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PGGM Investments raised its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 77.9% in the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 3,629,485 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $95,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,589,730 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,531,611 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,233,000 after purchasing an additional 36,285 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,227,656 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,251,000 after purchasing an additional 56,399 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 86.8% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,172,929 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,813,000 after purchasing an additional 545,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 11.0% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 957,610 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,070,000 after buying an additional 94,804 shares during the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

NYSE HIW opened at $33.04 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $33.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.66 and a beta of 1.26. Highwoods Properties has a fifty-two week low of $17.17 and a fifty-two week high of $36.78.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.74). Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 6.05% and a net margin of 17.40%. The firm had revenue of $204.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $204.96 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. Highwoods Properties’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Highwoods Properties will post 3.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 149.25%.

Highwoods Properties Company Profile

Highwoods Properties, Inc, headquartered in Raleigh, is a publicly-traded (NYSE:HIW), fully-integrated office real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops, acquires, leases and manages properties primarily in the best business districts (BBDs) of Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Nashville, Orlando, Raleigh, Richmond and Tampa.