Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) Receives $32.50 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $32.50.

Several research firms have commented on HIW. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Highwoods Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Highwoods Properties in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock.

Highwoods Properties Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE HIW opened at $29.95 on Wednesday. Highwoods Properties has a 52 week low of $24.07 and a 52 week high of $36.78. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.53 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $28.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.90.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $200.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $201.31 million. Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 4.33%. Highwoods Properties’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Highwoods Properties will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.68%. Highwoods Properties’s payout ratio is currently 124.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,105 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 10.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,278 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 493 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 7.7% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,908 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 2.5% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 22,514 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $667,000 after buying an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 17,106 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $507,000 after acquiring an additional 560 shares during the period. 96.31% of the stock is currently 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.