Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) Short Interest Down 15.1% in July

Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,620,000 shares, a decrease of 15.1% from the July 15th total of 5,440,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 845,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.5 days.

Highwoods Properties Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE HIW traded down $0.26 on Friday, reaching $31.70. The company had a trading volume of 589,942 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,076,284. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Highwoods Properties has a 1 year low of $17.06 and a 1 year high of $32.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $28.01 and a 200-day moving average of $26.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a PE ratio of 25.98 and a beta of 1.26.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.31). The firm had revenue of $204.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $205.06 million. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 6.33% and a net margin of 18.30%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Highwoods Properties will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.31%. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 163.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on HIW shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.86.

Institutional Trading of Highwoods Properties

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 13,731 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Highwoods Properties in the fourth quarter worth about $1,215,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 124,710 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,863,000 after buying an additional 8,007 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Highwoods Properties by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 40,989 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $941,000 after buying an additional 2,241 shares in the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is 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.