Highwoods Properties, Inc. $HIW Shares Sold by SCS Capital Management LLC

SCS Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) by 55.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 225,232 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 278,903 shares during the period. SCS Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Highwoods Properties were worth $5,815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 88.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 921.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 858 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 774 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP purchased a new stake in Highwoods Properties during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Avalon Trust Co purchased a new stake in Highwoods Properties during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 292.5% during 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 buying an additional 1,252 shares in the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on HIW. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Highwoods Properties from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.33.

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

NYSE HIW opened at $26.39 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.41 and a beta of 1.09. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.45 and a 52-week high of $32.76.

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

Highwoods Properties declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 22nd that permits the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the real estate investment trust to buy up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 238.10%.

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.