Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) Sets New 12-Month High at $32.30

Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $32.30 and last traded at $31.98, with a volume of 41360 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $31.74.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on HIW shares. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.50.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $29.71 and its 200-day moving average is $26.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.86 and a beta of 1.26.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.31). Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 18.30% and a return on equity of 6.33%. The company had revenue of $204.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $205.06 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.34%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. Highwoods Properties’s payout ratio is 163.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HIW. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Highwoods Properties in the second quarter worth about $1,057,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in Highwoods Properties during the second quarter worth $251,000. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 15.2% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 43,752 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 5,780 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC increased its stake in Highwoods Properties by 61.3% during the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 28,033 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 10,652 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 21,537 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $566,000 after buying an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.