Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $30.86.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HIW. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Highwoods Properties in a research report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Highwoods Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th.

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

HIW stock opened at $29.05 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $29.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.30. Highwoods Properties has a 52-week low of $23.52 and a 52-week high of $36.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.57 and a beta of 1.25.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 4.33% and a net margin of 12.37%. Equities research analysts forecast that Highwoods Properties will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 210.53%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

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