Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on HIW. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.71.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

HIW stock opened at $28.84 on Wednesday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $29.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.35 and a beta of 1.24. Highwoods Properties has a 1 year low of $23.52 and a 1 year high of $36.78.

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, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.85. Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 4.33%. On average, research analysts predict that Highwoods Properties will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Highwoods Properties’s payout ratio is 210.53%.

Institutional Trading of Highwoods Properties

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Highwoods Properties in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $259,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Highwoods Properties by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 19,856 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $710,000 after purchasing an additional 1,914 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 25,099 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $841,000 after buying an additional 1,795 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 141.2% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 36,647 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,228,000 after buying an additional 21,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G PLC increased its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 26.8% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 631,159 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $21,459,000 after buying an additional 133,575 shares during the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is 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.