Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Friday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on HIW. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Highwoods Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Highwoods Properties presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.71.

Highwoods Properties Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:HIW opened at $28.16 on Friday. Highwoods Properties has a 1-year low of $23.52 and a 1-year high of $36.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.65 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $29.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.31.

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

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.10%. Highwoods Properties’s payout ratio is currently 210.53%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Highwoods Properties by 5.7% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,254 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 495 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D acquired a new stake in shares of Highwoods Properties in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,085,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Highwoods Properties by 184.7% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 27,048 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $906,000 after purchasing an additional 17,548 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 31.5% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 10,916 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 2,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Highwoods Properties during the third quarter worth $428,000. 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.