Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $1.04 Million Position in Highwoods Properties, Inc. $HIW

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 48,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,045,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 88.6% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 792 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 921.4% during the third quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 858 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 774 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP acquired a new stake in shares of Highwoods Properties during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 292.5% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,680 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 285.8% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 1,469 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

HIW stock opened at $31.78 on Friday. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.45 and a 1-year high of $32.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The firm has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a PE ratio of 37.83 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $27.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.19.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $214.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $209.06 million. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 3.97% and a net margin of 11.64%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share. Highwoods Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.400-3.68 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Highwoods Properties declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 22nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to buy up to 9.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 238.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Highwoods Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Highwoods Properties from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.11.

About Highwoods Properties

Highwoods Properties, Inc is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, leases and manages office properties. The company’s portfolio is primarily focused on Class A office space, with an emphasis on high-quality buildings in key urban and suburban submarkets. Highwoods seeks to generate long-term, recurring revenues through a mix of in-place lease renewals, strategic dispositions and build-to-suit developments. Its asset management platform drives operational efficiencies and tenant service initiatives across its holdings.

Founded in 1970 and headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, Highwoods Properties has expanded its presence to eight major metropolitan regions across the Southeastern United States and Texas.