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

Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $31.20.

HIW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Highwoods Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 184.7% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 27,048 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $906,000 after buying an additional 17,548 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D bought a new stake in Highwoods Properties during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,085,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 848,653 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $22,294,000 after acquiring an additional 58,634 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position 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 worth $7,229,000 after acquiring an additional 175,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 141.2% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 36,647 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,228,000 after purchasing an additional 21,455 shares during the period. 96.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Highwoods Properties Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE HIW traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $30.63. 98,557 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 849,756. Highwoods Properties has a twelve month low of $21.37 and a twelve month high of $36.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.31. The business’s 50-day moving average is $31.94 and its 200-day moving average is $31.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.86 and a beta of 1.24.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.74). The company had revenue of $204.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.96 million. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 6.05% and a net margin of 17.40%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Highwoods Properties will post 3.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 149.25%.

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.