Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) Lowered to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Thursday.

HIW has been the topic of several other reports. Truist Financial dropped their target price 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. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.50.

Highwoods Properties Trading Down 6.5 %

HIW opened at $27.91 on Thursday. Highwoods Properties has a 52 week low of $23.52 and a 52 week high of $36.78. The company has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.37 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $29.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.04. 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 data on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.85. Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 4.33%. Analysts forecast that Highwoods Properties will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 210.53%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in Highwoods Properties by 72.6% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 21,956 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $671,000 after buying an additional 9,235 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 436.3% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 215,724 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,229,000 after acquiring an additional 175,499 shares during the period. B&I Capital AG lifted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 111.7% in the 4th quarter. B&I Capital AG now owns 262,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,027,000 after acquiring an additional 138,500 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,133,242 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $65,235,000 after purchasing an additional 71,670 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 65.1% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,562 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 2,587 shares during the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.