Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Has $3.40 Million Stock Holdings in Highwoods Properties, Inc. $HIW

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lowered its stake in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) by 14.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 158,868 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 26,390 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Highwoods Properties were worth $3,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HIW. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 12.7% in the first 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 last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 15.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 822,655 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $24,383,000 after buying an additional 110,489 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of 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 worth $393,000 after buying an additional 1,248 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 worth $50,000 after buying an additional 1,252 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,846 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,534 shares during the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Highwoods Properties from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.00.

Highwoods Properties Trading Down 1.6%

NYSE:HIW opened at $33.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.09. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.45 and a fifty-two week high of $35.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of 22.26 and a beta of 1.07.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $216.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.15 million. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 7.06% and a net margin of 20.74%.Highwoods Properties’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. Highwoods Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.460-3.700 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.9%. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 238.10%.

Highwoods Properties announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 22nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to purchase up to 9.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.