Highwoods Properties, Inc. $HIW Stock Holdings Boosted by Aew Capital Management L P

Key Points

• Aew Capital Management increased its Highwoods Properties stake by 3.8% in Q4, adding 88,672 shares and bringing its total to 2.43 million shares worth about $62.8 million.
• Highwoods Properties reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.29 versus the $0.16 estimate and revenue of $214.03 million, up 6.8% year over year.
• The REIT also announced a $250 million share buyback and a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, implying an annualized yield of 7.9%.

Aew Capital Management L P boosted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Free Report) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,433,243 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 88,672 shares during the quarter. Highwoods Properties makes up 4.5% of Aew Capital Management L P's holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Aew Capital Management L P owned about 2.21% of Highwoods Properties worth $62,826,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Highwoods Properties by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,903,497 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $436,448,000 after purchasing an additional 407,406 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 1.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,564,027 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $204,076,000 after purchasing an additional 86,506 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 0.7% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,205,348 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $70,174,000 after purchasing an additional 14,410 shares in the last quarter. GRS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 64.1% during the third quarter. GRS Advisors LLC now owns 2,046,809 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $65,129,000 after purchasing an additional 799,339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 19.6% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,613,516 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $50,164,000 after purchasing an additional 264,587 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Highwoods Properties from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $23.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Highwoods Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Robert W. Baird set a $29.00 target price on Highwoods Properties in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $23.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Highwoods Properties has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.78.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

NYSE:HIW opened at $25.43 on Thursday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $23.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The company has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.28 and a beta of 1.08. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.45 and a twelve month high of $32.76.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.13. Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 3.97%. The firm had revenue of $214.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $209.06 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Highwoods Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.400-3.68 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to reacquire up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.9%. Highwoods Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 238.10%.

Highwoods Properties Profile

Highwoods Properties, Inc is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, leases and manages office properties. The company's portfolio is primarily focused on Class A office space, with an emphasis on high-quality buildings in key urban and suburban submarkets. Highwoods seeks to generate long-term, recurring revenues through a mix of in-place lease renewals, strategic dispositions and build-to-suit developments. Its asset management platform drives operational efficiencies and tenant service initiatives across its holdings.

Founded in 1970 and headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, Highwoods Properties has expanded its presence to eight major metropolitan regions across the Southeastern United States and Texas.

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