Short Interest in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) Drops By 11.2%

Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,420,000 shares, a decline of 11.2% from the January 15th total of 4,980,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 954,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.6 days. Approximately 4.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Highwoods Properties Stock Down 1.1 %

HIW stock traded down $0.32 on Tuesday, hitting $28.86. 931,457 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 905,637. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $29.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.61. Highwoods Properties has a 12-month low of $23.12 and a 12-month high of $36.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.54 and a beta of 1.24.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 6.05% and a net margin of 17.40%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Highwoods Properties will post 3.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.93%. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 149.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HIW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho raised their price target on Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.71.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,289,806 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $244,281,000 after purchasing an additional 124,646 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,265,824 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $99,869,000 after acquiring an additional 556,828 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $107,155,000 after acquiring an additional 908,401 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,133,242 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $65,235,000 after acquiring an additional 71,670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,902,036 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $63,754,000 after acquiring an additional 12,958 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

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.