Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.83.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HIW. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Highwoods Properties in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Highwoods Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Highwoods Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th.

Highwoods Properties Trading Up 2.3%

HIW stock opened at $31.14 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Highwoods Properties has a 52-week low of $24.19 and a 52-week high of $36.78. The firm has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.78 and a beta of 1.21.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $200.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $201.31 million. Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 4.33%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Highwoods Properties will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.42%. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 124.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HIW. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 375.0% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 855 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Highwoods Properties in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Avalon Trust Co purchased a new position in Highwoods Properties in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 292.5% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,680 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 1,252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties in the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

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.