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

Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $32.50.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HIW. StockNews.com lowered shares of Highwoods Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Highwoods Properties in a report on Monday, March 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho raised their target price on Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on Highwoods Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HIW. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Highwoods Properties by 375.0% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 855 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Highwoods Properties during the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 124.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,434 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,351 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Highwoods Properties by 363.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 2,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Highwoods Properties by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,052 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

Shares of Highwoods Properties stock opened at $27.38 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.82 and a beta of 1.15. Highwoods Properties has a twelve month low of $23.62 and a twelve month high of $36.78. The company’s fifty day moving average is $28.43 and its 200 day moving average is $30.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Highwoods Properties will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.30%. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 210.53%.

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.