Raymond James Financial Inc. Cuts Stake in Highwoods Properties, Inc. $HIW

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. has reduced its stake in Highwoods Properties, Inc. by 8.8%, now holding approximately 0.18% of the company, worth about $5.8 million.
• Highwoods Properties reported $0.89 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations but reflecting a 2.0% decline in year-over-year revenue.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, reflecting a 6.4% yield and a payout ratio of 168.07%.

Raymond James Financial Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Free Report) by 8.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 195,851 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 18,815 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.18% of Highwoods Properties worth $5,805,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Highwoods Properties during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Avalon Trust Co purchased a new stake in Highwoods Properties in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Highwoods Properties in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY purchased a new stake in Highwoods Properties in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Highwoods Properties in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $82,000. 96.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Highwoods Properties Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE HIW traded down $0.22 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $31.68. 96,205 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,008,174. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.18 and a 1 year high of $36.78. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $30.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.58 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.04. Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The company had revenue of $200.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $203.22 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Highwoods Properties has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.370-3.450 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Highwoods Properties's payout ratio is currently 168.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Highwoods Properties from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Highwoods Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.17.

About Highwoods Properties

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.