Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) Stock Now Rated “Hold” by Wall Street Brokerages

Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eight brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $32.00.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Highwoods Properties from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $23.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Huntington started coverage on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Highwoods Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HIW. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Highwoods Properties during the second quarter worth approximately $633,717,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 133.8% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 1,808,104 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,712,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034,694 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 6.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,639,419 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,139,000 after purchasing an additional 98,531 shares during the period. CORDA Investment Management LLC. raised its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 0.3% in the second quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 1,284,718 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,747,000 after purchasing an additional 3,370 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,595,000. Institutional investors own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

Highwoods Properties Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:HIW opened at $29.79 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60 and a beta of 1.06. Highwoods Properties has a 1-year low of $20.45 and a 1-year high of $35.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $30.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.60.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.01). Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 20.74% and a return on equity of 7.06%. The company had revenue of $216.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Highwoods Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.460-3.700 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Highwoods Properties will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. Highwoods Properties’s payout ratio is currently 131.58%.

About Highwoods Properties

Highwoods Properties, Inc (NYSE: HIW) is a real estate investment trust that owns, develops, leases and manages primarily office properties. The company focuses on high-quality buildings in prominent business districts and serves corporate, professional-services and other commercial tenants.

Highwoods’ portfolio is concentrated in major Sun Belt and Southeast markets, including Atlanta, Charlotte, Orlando, Raleigh, Richmond, Nashville and Tampa. In addition to leasing office space, the company provides property management and related services and pursues select development and redevelopment opportunities to support its portfolio.

Founded in 1978, Highwoods Properties became a publicly traded company in 1994.