Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $30.00.

HIW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $23.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Highwoods Properties from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Highwoods Properties from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th.

Highwoods Properties Stock Down 1.6%

HIW stock opened at $33.84 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of 22.26 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. Highwoods Properties has a twelve month low of $20.45 and a twelve month high of $35.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $30.20 and its 200-day moving average is $26.09.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.01). Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 7.06% and a net margin of 20.74%.The company had revenue of $216.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Highwoods Properties will post 3.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the real estate investment trust to buy up to 9.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 238.10%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HIW. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,903,497 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $436,448,000 after purchasing an additional 407,406 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Highwoods Properties by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,699,130 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $172,972,000 after buying an additional 81,348 shares during the period. Aew Capital Management L P grew its position in Highwoods Properties by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Aew Capital Management L P now owns 2,433,243 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $62,826,000 after buying an additional 88,672 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 0.7% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,205,348 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $70,174,000 after buying an additional 14,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,149,230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $55,503,000 after buying an additional 16,327 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

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.