Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Thursday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on HIW. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Highwoods Properties in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Highwoods Properties has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.50.

Highwoods Properties Trading Down 2.8 %

Highwoods Properties stock opened at $27.14 on Thursday. Highwoods Properties has a 12-month low of $23.52 and a 12-month high of $36.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.57 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $28.99 and a 200 day moving average of $30.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 predict that Highwoods Properties will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Highwoods Properties’s payout ratio is 210.53%.

Institutional Trading of Highwoods Properties

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HIW. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 275.5% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 11,461 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 8,409 shares during the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Highwoods Properties in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 328.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 126,631 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,872,000 after purchasing an additional 97,100 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,105 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the period. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,000. 96.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.