Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $27.3333.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on HIW shares. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Highwoods Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Highwoods Properties from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $23.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 31st.

Institutional Trading of Highwoods Properties

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HIW. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 177,942 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,275,000 after purchasing an additional 19,998 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 822,655 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $24,383,000 after purchasing an additional 110,489 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,243 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 292.5% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,680 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,252 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,846 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,534 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HIW opened at $30.16 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.91 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.82. Highwoods Properties has a 52 week low of $20.45 and a 52 week high of $32.76.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $214.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $209.06 million. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 3.97% and a net margin of 11.64%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. Highwoods Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.400-3.68 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Highwoods Properties will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 22nd that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the real estate investment trust to reacquire up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 238.10%.

About Highwoods Properties

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.