Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Acquires 218,980 Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. $HIW

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stock holdings in Highwoods Properties, Inc. by 66.3% during the first quarter, owning about 549,136 shares worth $16.3 million at the end of the quarter.
• Institutional investors collectively own 96.31% of Highwoods Properties, with substantial increases in positions reported by firms like Massachusetts Financial Services and Janus Henderson Group.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, resulting in a 6.3% yield with a dividend payout ratio of 168.07%.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Free Report) by 66.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 549,136 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 218,980 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned 0.51% of Highwoods Properties worth $16,276,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,105 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,278 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Highwoods Properties by 7.7% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,908 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Highwoods Properties by 2.5% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 22,514 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $667,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Highwoods Properties by 3.4% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 17,106 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HIW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho upped their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Highwoods Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.17.

Highwoods Properties Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE HIW traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $32.31. The stock had a trading volume of 1,018,880 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,073,843. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.18 and a 1 year high of $36.78. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $30.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.63. The firm has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.15 and a beta of 1.27.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $200.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $203.22 million. Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. Highwoods Properties has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.370-3.450 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%. Highwoods Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 168.07%.

Highwoods Properties Profile

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.