GAMMA Investing LLC Purchases 151,655 Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Free Report) by 3,169.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 156,440 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 151,655 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned about 0.15% of Highwoods Properties worth $46,370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Highwoods Properties by 275.5% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 11,461 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 8,409 shares during the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Highwoods Properties in the first quarter worth approximately $234,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 328.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 126,631 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,872,000 after purchasing an additional 97,100 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Highwoods Properties by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,105 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the period. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Highwoods Properties in the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.31% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HIW. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Highwoods Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Highwoods Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Highwoods Properties in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.83.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HIW traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $30.96. The company had a trading volume of 341,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 924,003. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.19 and a 12-month high of $36.78. The company has a fifty day moving average of $28.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.44. The company has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.61 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.01. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 4.33% and a net margin of 12.37%. The firm had revenue of $200.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $201.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Highwoods Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 124.22%.

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.