Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) Reaches New 12-Month High at $33.80

Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $33.80 and last traded at $33.74, with a volume of 28361 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $33.60.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HIW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $22.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.29.

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $31.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.59. The stock has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.74 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.31). Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 6.33% and a net margin of 18.30%. The firm had revenue of $204.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $205.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 163.93%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HIW. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its position in Highwoods Properties by 2.8% in the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 13,653 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Highwoods Properties by 3.6% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 10,766 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $283,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 4.9% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 9,274 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 11.7% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,206 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 46,144 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,059,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. 96.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Highwoods Properties

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.