Natixis Advisors LLC Increases Position in Highwoods Properties, Inc. $HIW

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) by 35.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 150,693 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,652 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Highwoods Properties were worth $3,891,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,903,497 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $436,448,000 after acquiring an additional 407,406 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,564,027 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $204,076,000 after acquiring an additional 86,506 shares during the period. Aew Capital Management L P increased its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Aew Capital Management L P now owns 2,433,243 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $62,826,000 after acquiring an additional 88,672 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,205,348 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $70,174,000 after acquiring an additional 14,410 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,149,230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $55,503,000 after acquiring an additional 16,327 shares during the period. 96.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Highwoods Properties Stock Up 5.0%

Shares of HIW stock opened at $29.93 on Wednesday. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.45 and a 1-year high of $32.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $24.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The company has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.63 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Highwoods Properties declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 22nd that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the real estate investment trust to purchase up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors 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. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. Highwoods Properties’s payout ratio is 238.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HIW. Mizuho cut their price target on Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Citigroup cut their price target on Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird set a $29.00 price target on Highwoods Properties in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Highwoods Properties in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Two 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.33.

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.