Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) Receives $24.38 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $24.38.

Several analysts have recently commented on HIW shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

Shares of HIW stock opened at $23.68 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04 and a beta of 1.23. Highwoods Properties has a 52 week low of $17.06 and a 52 week high of $26.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $24.47 and a 200-day moving average of $22.06.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 143.89%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HIW. PGGM Investments purchased a new position in Highwoods Properties during the 4th quarter worth $46,833,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 42.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,614,624 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $105,952,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364,176 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Highwoods Properties during the 4th quarter worth $33,512,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,371,014 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $358,017,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139,688 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 4,897.7% during the 1st quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 843,120 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $19,552,000 after purchasing an additional 826,250 shares during the period. 96.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.