Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) Receives $25.86 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the seven brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $25.86.

HIW has been the topic of several research reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price 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.

Highwoods Properties Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of HIW opened at $31.26 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of 25.62 and a beta of 1.26. Highwoods Properties has a 1 year low of $17.06 and a 1 year high of $32.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.09.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last issued 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). The business had revenue of $204.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $205.06 million. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 6.33% and a net margin of 18.30%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. Analysts forecast that Highwoods Properties will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.40%. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 163.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HIW. PGGM Investments purchased a new position in Highwoods Properties in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,833,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Highwoods Properties by 42.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,614,624 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $105,952,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364,176 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Highwoods Properties in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $24,306,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Highwoods Properties by 86.8% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,172,929 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,813,000 after purchasing an additional 545,066 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Highwoods Properties by 402.4% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 485,191 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,140,000 after purchasing an additional 388,617 shares during the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.