Ethic Inc. Purchases New Stake in Highwoods Properties, Inc. $HIW

Ethic Inc. purchased a new stake in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 36,583 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,062,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 5.7% during the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,438 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $506,000 after purchasing an additional 934 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Highwoods Properties by 41.1% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 32,382 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $988,000 after buying an additional 9,426 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 151.2% in the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 6,913 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 4,161 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC lifted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 27.5% in the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 17,481 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 3,771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Interchange Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $250,000. 96.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on HIW. Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Highwoods Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Huntington initiated coverage on shares of Highwoods Properties in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Mizuho set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Highwoods Properties from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Highwoods Properties from $23.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to data from MarketBeat, Highwoods Properties currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.00.

Highwoods Properties Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Highwoods Properties stock opened at $31.07 on Friday. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.45 and a 1 year high of $35.44. The company has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.38 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $218.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.39 million. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 7.68% and a net margin of 22.56%. Highwoods Properties’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.4%. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 118.34%.

About Highwoods Properties

Highwoods Properties, Inc. is a real estate investment trust that owns, develops, leases and manages office properties. Its portfolio is concentrated in business districts across the U.S. Sun Belt, including markets such as Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville, Raleigh and Tampa. The company provides office space and related property management services to businesses across a range of industries. Its work includes developing and maintaining properties as well as leasing space to commercial tenants. Highwoods is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina.