Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 407,406 Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. $HIW

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,903,497 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 407,406 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Highwoods Properties worth $436,448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HIW. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 177,942 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,275,000 after purchasing an additional 19,998 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 822,655 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $24,383,000 after buying an additional 110,489 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,243 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $393,000 after buying an additional 1,248 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew 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 valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 1,252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 9.4% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,846 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $555,000 after buying an additional 1,534 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

Highwoods Properties Stock Up 2.6%

HIW opened at $25.11 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.27. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.45 and a 1-year high of $32.76. The stock has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a PE ratio of 29.89 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.13. Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 3.97%. The firm had revenue of $214.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $209.06 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Highwoods Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.400-3.68 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.0%. Highwoods Properties’s payout ratio is presently 238.10%.

Highwoods Properties announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to repurchase up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HIW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Highwoods Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Highwoods Properties in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.67.

About Highwoods Properties

Highwoods Properties, Inc is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, leases and manages office properties. The company’s portfolio is primarily focused on Class A office space, with an emphasis on high-quality buildings in key urban and suburban submarkets. Highwoods seeks to generate long-term, recurring revenues through a mix of in-place lease renewals, strategic dispositions and build-to-suit developments. Its asset management platform drives operational efficiencies and tenant service initiatives across its holdings.

Founded in 1970 and headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, Highwoods Properties has expanded its presence to eight major metropolitan regions across the Southeastern United States and Texas.