Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $30.71.

HIW has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com cut Highwoods Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Highwoods Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HIW. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Highwoods Properties by 375.0% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 855 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Highwoods Properties during the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Highwoods Properties in the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 124.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,434 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,351 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 363.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 2,331 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

Shares of HIW stock opened at $28.82 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $29.55 and a 200 day moving average of $31.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.33 and a beta of 1.24. Highwoods Properties has a 52 week low of $23.35 and a 52 week high of $36.78.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.85. Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 4.33%. As a group, research analysts expect that Highwoods Properties will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.94%. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 210.53%.

About Highwoods Properties

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.