Vestcor Inc Takes $1.29 Million Position in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

Vestcor Inc purchased a new position in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 42,234 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,292,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position 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 worth $93,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,254 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Highwoods Properties by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,719 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 375.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in Highwoods Properties by 3.7% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 19,141 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $642,000 after purchasing an additional 682 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HIW opened at $28.16 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.32. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.52 and a twelve month high of $36.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.65 and a beta of 1.25. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85. Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 4.33%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Mizuho increased their target price on Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Highwoods Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Highwoods Properties presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.71.

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.