Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. 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 on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $30.71.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on HIW shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Truist Financial reduced their price target 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. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Highwoods Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th.

Highwoods Properties Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of HIW stock opened at $28.90 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.42 and a beta of 1.24. Highwoods Properties has a twelve month low of $23.14 and a twelve month high of $36.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.56.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 4.33% and a net margin of 12.37%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Highwoods Properties will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.92%. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 210.53%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 131.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,708,996 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $90,778,000 after buying an additional 1,536,067 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Highwoods Properties in the fourth quarter worth about $32,727,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 512.9% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,274,443 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,961,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066,508 shares during the last quarter. Aew Capital Management L P bought a new stake in shares of Highwoods Properties in the fourth quarter worth about $31,250,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 40.9% in the third 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 during the last quarter. 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.