Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

HIW has been the topic of several other reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird set a $29.00 price objective on Highwoods Properties in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Mizuho cut their target price on Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Highwoods Properties in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Highwoods Properties from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.20.

Highwoods Properties Trading Down 0.6%

HIW opened at $22.00 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.75. Highwoods Properties has a fifty-two week low of $21.18 and a fifty-two week high of $32.76. The company has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.07 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.41.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last announced 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). Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 20.10% and a return on equity of 6.86%. The business had revenue of $203.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $208.08 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. Highwoods Properties’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Highwoods Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.400-3.680 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Highwoods Properties will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.1%. Highwoods Properties’s payout ratio is 136.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HIW. Inscription Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 185.1% during the 3rd quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 40,370 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,285,000 after purchasing an additional 26,211 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in 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 worth $200,554,000 after purchasing an additional 205,761 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Highwoods Properties by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 772,326 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $24,575,000 after purchasing an additional 61,443 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Highwoods Properties during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,203,000. Finally, Aew Capital Management L P raised its holdings in 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 worth $74,604,000 after buying an additional 1,144,991 shares during the period. 96.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.