Brokerages Set Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) Price Target at $28.50

Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $28.83.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Highwoods Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Highwoods Properties from $22.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday.

Highwoods Properties Stock Down 2.7 %

Highwoods Properties stock opened at $32.64 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $33.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.36 and a beta of 1.26. Highwoods Properties has a twelve month low of $17.17 and a twelve month high of $36.78.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.74). The business had revenue of $204.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.96 million. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 6.05% and a net margin of 17.40%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Highwoods Properties will post 3.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Highwoods Properties’s payout ratio is 149.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HIW. PGGM Investments increased its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 77.9% in the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 3,629,485 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $95,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,589,730 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Highwoods Properties by 86.8% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,172,929 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,813,000 after purchasing an additional 545,066 shares during the period. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in Highwoods Properties during the 1st quarter worth about $10,047,000. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Highwoods Properties during the 1st quarter worth about $8,444,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its position in Highwoods Properties by 245.6% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 430,975 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,283,000 after purchasing an additional 306,265 shares during the period. 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.