Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) Stock Rated "Hold" by Sell-Side Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst consensus is “Hold”: All eight covering brokerages rated Highwoods Properties a hold, with an average 12-month price target of $32.00.
• Quarterly results were mixed: Highwoods reported $0.85 in EPS, slightly below the $0.86 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 7.9% year over year to $216.38 million.
• The stock offers a high dividend yield: The REIT pays a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, or $2.00 annually, representing a 6.7% yield, although its payout ratio is elevated at 131.58%.

Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $32.00.

Several research firms have recently commented on HIW. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Mizuho set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Weiss Ratings raised Highwoods Properties from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Huntington started coverage on Highwoods Properties in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Highwoods Properties from $23.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd.

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

Shares of HIW opened at $29.79 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60 and a beta of 1.06. Highwoods Properties has a twelve month low of $20.45 and a twelve month high of $35.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a 50 day moving average of $30.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.60.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.01). Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 20.74% and a return on equity of 7.06%. The business had revenue of $216.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.15 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Highwoods Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.460-3.700 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Highwoods Properties will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th 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, August 17th. Highwoods Properties's payout ratio is presently 131.58%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 752.0% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 940 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 6.3% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 17,814 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 3.0% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 35,955 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,084,000 after purchasing an additional 1,054 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Highwoods Properties in the second quarter worth $34,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 16.2% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,204 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144 shares during the period. 96.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Highwoods Properties Company Profile

Highwoods Properties, Inc NYSE: HIW is a real estate investment trust that owns, develops, leases and manages primarily office properties. The company focuses on high-quality buildings in prominent business districts and serves corporate, professional-services and other commercial tenants.

Highwoods' portfolio is concentrated in major Sun Belt and Southeast markets, including Atlanta, Charlotte, Orlando, Raleigh, Richmond, Nashville and Tampa. In addition to leasing office space, the company provides property management and related services and pursues select development and redevelopment opportunities to support its portfolio.

Founded in 1978, Highwoods Properties became a publicly traded company in 1994.

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