140,800 Shares in Highwoods Properties, Inc. $HIW Acquired by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 140,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $4,247,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of 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. raised 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 valued at $24,383,000 after acquiring an additional 110,489 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 10.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,243 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 292.5% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,680 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,252 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 9.4% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,846 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,534 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HIW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Highwoods Properties from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Truist Financial upped their price target on Highwoods Properties from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $23.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Highwoods Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.33.

Highwoods Properties Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of HIW stock opened at $31.10 on Friday. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.45 and a 12-month high of $35.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $31.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.46 and a beta of 1.05.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $216.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $212.15 million. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 7.06% and a net margin of 20.74%.Highwoods Properties’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. Highwoods Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.460-3.700 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 131.58%.

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.