Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) Reaches New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $22.00 to $32.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Highwoods Properties traded as high as $32.44 and last traded at $32.41, with a volume of 5696 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $32.12.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on HIW. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.29.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HIW. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 45.5% during the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 580 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 141.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,073 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 1,214 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 63.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,766 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 1,460 shares during the period. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties during the first quarter valued at about $107,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $30.39 and its 200-day moving average is $27.18. The company has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a PE ratio of 26.90 and a beta of 1.26.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.31). Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 18.30% and a return on equity of 6.33%. The company had revenue of $204.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $205.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. Highwoods Properties’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.09%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. Highwoods Properties’s payout ratio is currently 163.93%.

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.