Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,220,000 shares, a growth of 19.2% from the December 15th total of 4,380,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 989,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.3 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HIW. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Highwoods Properties during the third quarter worth approximately $48,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,052 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 269.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,221 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 55.8% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 35.1% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,114 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

Highwoods Properties Stock Up 1.7 %

HIW stock traded up $0.50 during trading on Friday, hitting $30.27. 575,596 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 821,842. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59 and a beta of 1.24. Highwoods Properties has a 52-week low of $21.46 and a 52-week high of $36.78. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $30.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.74). The firm 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 company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Highwoods Properties will post 3.61 EPS for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.61%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 149.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HIW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Highwoods Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Highwoods Properties from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.86.

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.