Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on HIW. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.71.

Highwoods Properties Trading Up 1.7 %

HIW opened at $28.16 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.65 and a beta of 1.25. Highwoods Properties has a 52 week low of $23.52 and a 52 week high of $36.78. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.31.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.85. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 4.33% and a net margin of 12.37%. On average, equities analysts expect that Highwoods Properties will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 210.53%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HIW. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 131.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,708,996 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $90,778,000 after purchasing an additional 1,536,067 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Highwoods Properties during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,727,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 512.9% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,274,443 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,961,000 after buying an additional 1,066,508 shares in the last quarter. Aew Capital Management L P purchased a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties in the 4th quarter valued at $31,250,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Highwoods Properties by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,130,452 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $107,155,000 after acquiring an additional 908,401 shares in the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.