Jefferies Financial Group Lowers Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) Price Target to $31.00

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) had its price target decreased by Jefferies Financial Group from $35.00 to $31.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a hold rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on HIW. 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 report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Highwoods Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $31.00 to $35.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.17.

Highwoods Properties Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:HIW opened at $30.66 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.88 and a beta of 1.24. Highwoods Properties has a one year low of $21.37 and a one year high of $36.78. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.14.

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

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.52%. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 149.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Highwoods Properties by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,942 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 35,340 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $928,000 after purchasing an additional 3,252 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 848,653 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $22,294,000 after purchasing an additional 58,634 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 109.5% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 552,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,501,000 after buying an additional 288,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC bought a new stake in Highwoods Properties in the second quarter worth about $288,000. Institutional investors own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

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.