Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $25.00.

Several research firms recently issued reports on HIW. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Highwoods Properties in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Highwoods Properties from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $27.00 to $22.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 30th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $31.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 18th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Highwoods Properties from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $29.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday, November 13th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 76.6% in the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,095 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Highwoods Properties in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Ellevest Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 89.9% in the 1st quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 2,078 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 984 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 20,800.0% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,090 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 2,080 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Highwoods Properties in the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

HIW stock opened at $18.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.60 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Highwoods Properties has a 12-month low of $17.06 and a 12-month high of $31.88. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.95.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.62%. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 155.04%.

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.