Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) Receives $31.20 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the six research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $31.17.

Several research analysts have commented on HIW shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Highwoods Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday.

Institutional Trading of Highwoods Properties

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HIW. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 4.8% in the second 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. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 6.6% during 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 during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in Highwoods Properties by 10.1% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 35,340 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $928,000 after buying an additional 3,252 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 7.4% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 848,653 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $22,294,000 after buying an additional 58,634 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 288,500 shares during the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

Highwoods Properties stock opened at $30.78 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.21. Highwoods Properties has a twelve month low of $21.37 and a twelve month high of $36.78. The company has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a PE ratio of 22.97 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $204.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $204.96 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Highwoods Properties will post 3.62 EPS for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.50%. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 149.25%.

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.