Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $28.1111.

HIW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Highwoods Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Highwoods Properties from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Truist Financial raised their price target on Highwoods Properties from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Highwoods Properties from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of HIW. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Highwoods Properties by 12.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 177,942 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,275,000 after acquiring an additional 19,998 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 822,655 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $24,383,000 after purchasing an additional 110,489 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,243 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Highwoods Properties by 292.5% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,680 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in 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 worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,534 shares during the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Highwoods Properties Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of HIW stock opened at $31.78 on Monday. Highwoods Properties has a 12 month low of $20.45 and a 12 month high of $32.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The business’s 50 day moving average is $27.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.19. The company has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a PE ratio of 37.83 and a beta of 1.07.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.13. Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 3.97%. The company had revenue of $214.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $209.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Highwoods Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.400-3.68 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Highwoods Properties will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 238.10%.

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

Highwoods Properties Company Profile

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.