Easterly Investment Partners LLC Has $3.22 Million Stock Position in Highwoods Properties, Inc. $HIW

Key Points

• Easterly Investment Partners LLC reduced its stake in Highwoods Properties, Inc. by 8.6%, holding 103,644 shares valued at $3.22 million after selling 9,720 shares in the second quarter.
• The company's quarterly earnings exceeded analyst expectations with an EPS of $0.89, although its revenue fell short at $200.60 million compared to the expected $203.22 million.
• Highwoods Properties recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50, yielding 6.7%, while indicating a payout ratio of 168.07%.

Easterly Investment Partners LLC cut its position in shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Free Report) by 8.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,644 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 9,720 shares during the quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC owned 0.10% of Highwoods Properties worth $3,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,278 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,964 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY purchased a new position in Highwoods Properties during the 1st quarter valued at about $59,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 53.9% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $771,000 after acquiring an additional 9,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 158,029 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,684,000 after buying an additional 922 shares during the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Highwoods Properties Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of HIW opened at $29.71 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $30.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 24.97 and a beta of 1.24. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.18 and a 12-month high of $36.78.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 5.57% and a net margin of 16.15%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. Highwoods Properties has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.370-3.450 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued 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 6.7%. Highwoods Properties's payout ratio is 168.07%.

Insider Activity at Highwoods Properties

In related news, Director David John Hartzell sold 4,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.10, for a total transaction of $138,030.00. Following the sale, the director owned 27,489 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $882,396.90. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Truist Financial upped their target price on Highwoods Properties from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Highwoods Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Highwoods Properties in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Highwoods Properties has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.29.

Highwoods Properties Company 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.

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