Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) Upgraded at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $23.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock, down from their previous price target of $24.00.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on HIW. Robert W. Baird set a $29.00 price objective on Highwoods Properties in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.67.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HIW opened at $21.49 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.72 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $23.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.56. Highwoods Properties has a one year low of $20.45 and a one year high of $32.76.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.58). The business had revenue of $203.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $208.08 million. Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 20.10% and a return on equity of 6.86%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. Highwoods Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.400-3.680 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Highwoods Properties will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.3%. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 136.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,903,497 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $436,448,000 after acquiring an additional 407,406 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,699,130 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $172,972,000 after purchasing an additional 81,348 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,302,750 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $200,554,000 after purchasing an additional 205,761 shares in the last quarter. Aew Capital Management L P boosted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Aew Capital Management L P now owns 2,433,243 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $62,826,000 after purchasing an additional 88,672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Highwoods Properties by 0.7% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,205,348 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $70,174,000 after purchasing an additional 14,410 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

Highwoods Properties Company Profile

Highwoods Properties, Inc is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, leases and manages office properties. The company’s portfolio is primarily focused on Class A office space, with an emphasis on high-quality buildings in key urban and suburban submarkets. Highwoods seeks to generate long-term, recurring revenues through a mix of in-place lease renewals, strategic dispositions and build-to-suit developments. Its asset management platform drives operational efficiencies and tenant service initiatives across its holdings.

Founded in 1970 and headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, Highwoods Properties has expanded its presence to eight major metropolitan regions across the Southeastern United States and Texas.