Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) Price Target Raised to $29.00

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) had its target price boosted by Mizuho from $24.00 to $29.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has a neutral rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

HIW has been the topic of a number of other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Highwoods Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $31.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.86.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

Highwoods Properties stock opened at $29.23 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $31.37 and a 200-day moving average of $31.27. The company has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.81 and a beta of 1.24. Highwoods Properties has a 1 year low of $21.37 and a 1 year high of $36.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.31.

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

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.84%. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 149.25%.

Institutional Trading of Highwoods Properties

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 131.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,708,996 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $90,778,000 after acquiring an additional 1,536,067 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,130,452 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $107,155,000 after purchasing an additional 908,401 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Highwoods Properties by 472.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 885,541 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $29,674,000 after purchasing an additional 730,859 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in Highwoods Properties by 537.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 485,368 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $16,264,000 after purchasing an additional 409,258 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its stake in Highwoods Properties by 109.5% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 552,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,501,000 after purchasing an additional 288,500 shares in the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is currently 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.