Strs Ohio Lowers Holdings in Highwoods Properties, Inc. $HIW

Strs Ohio trimmed its position in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) by 51.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 82,035 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 86,589 shares during the period. Strs Ohio owned 0.08% of Highwoods Properties worth $2,610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Highwoods Properties in the second quarter worth $43,203,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in Highwoods Properties by 52.8% in the 2nd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 1,040,302 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,343,000 after acquiring an additional 359,332 shares during the last quarter. GRS Advisors LLC increased its stake in Highwoods Properties by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter. GRS Advisors LLC now owns 1,247,470 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,784,000 after acquiring an additional 356,530 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 3,086.3% in the 2nd quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 325,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,104,000 after acquiring an additional 314,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,613,516 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $50,164,000 after acquiring an additional 264,587 shares during the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on HIW shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Highwoods Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Highwoods Properties has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.75.

Highwoods Properties Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of HIW opened at $26.22 on Tuesday. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.18 and a fifty-two week high of $32.76. The firm has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.41 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $26.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.86. The company had revenue of $201.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $205.74 million. Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 15.98% and a return on equity of 5.48%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

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.