Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) Announces $0.50 Quarterly Dividend

Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 17th, NASDAQ reports. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of 0.50 per share by the real estate investment trust on Tuesday, June 11th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th.

Highwoods Properties has increased its dividend by an average of 1.4% annually over the last three years. Highwoods Properties has a payout ratio of 487.8% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities analysts expect Highwoods Properties to earn $3.53 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 56.7%.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

HIW traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $23.96. The company had a trading volume of 763,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,289,742. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The business has a 50-day moving average of $24.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.07. The company has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.13 and a beta of 1.23. Highwoods Properties has a 1 year low of $17.06 and a 1 year high of $26.27.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on HIW. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Highwoods Properties from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Highwoods Properties in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial upped their price target on Highwoods Properties from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Highwoods Properties from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.38.

Institutional Trading of Highwoods Properties

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HIW. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Highwoods Properties during the first quarter worth about $27,000. KBC Group NV bought a new position in Highwoods Properties during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 76.6% during the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,095 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Highwoods Properties during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 165.3% during the second quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,181 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 1,359 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

About Highwoods Properties

Highwoods Properties, Inc, headquartered in Raleigh, is a publicly-traded (NYSE:HIW), fully-integrated office real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops, acquires, leases and manages properties primarily in the best business districts (BBDs) of Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Nashville, Orlando, Raleigh, Richmond and Tampa.