SG Americas Securities LLC Lowers Stake in Highwoods Properties, Inc. $HIW

SG Americas Securities LLC lowered its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) by 80.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,537 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 22,395 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Highwoods Properties were worth $143,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,496,091 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $524,906,000 after buying an additional 295,289 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,564,027 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $204,076,000 after buying an additional 86,506 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised 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 buying an additional 205,761 shares in the last quarter. Aew Capital Management L P raised its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 95.4% during the 3rd quarter. Aew Capital Management L P now owns 2,344,571 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $74,604,000 after buying an additional 1,144,991 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,205,348 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $70,174,000 after buying an additional 14,410 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

Highwoods Properties stock opened at $23.54 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.59 billion, a PE ratio of 16.12 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.85. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.45 and a twelve month high of $32.76.

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

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 136.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HIW. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Highwoods Properties from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Robert W. Baird set a $29.00 price target on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.67.

Highwoods Properties 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.