Hsbc Holdings PLC Acquires 56,931 Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. $HIW

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 34.6% in Q4, buying 56,931 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 221,609 shares valued at about $5.72 million.
• Highwoods Properties continues to attract heavy institutional ownership, with firms like Vanguard, Norges Bank, and GRS Advisors making sizable moves; overall, 96.31% of the stock is held by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Analysts remain cautious overall: the stock has a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $28.11, even as the shares recently traded at $29.91 and the company reported earnings and revenue above expectations in its latest quarter.

Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Free Report) by 34.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 221,609 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 56,931 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.20% of Highwoods Properties worth $5,724,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HIW. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Highwoods Properties during the 4th quarter valued at $26,251,000. GRS Advisors LLC increased its stake in Highwoods Properties by 64.1% in the 3rd quarter. GRS Advisors LLC now owns 2,046,809 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $65,129,000 after buying an additional 799,339 shares in the last quarter. Bayhunt Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Highwoods Properties in the 4th quarter worth $13,125,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 88.1% during the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 910,271 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $28,965,000 after acquiring an additional 426,241 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $436,448,000 after acquiring an additional 407,406 shares during the period. 96.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on HIW shares. Wall Street Zen raised Highwoods Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Highwoods Properties from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings raised Highwoods Properties from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Highwoods Properties from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.11.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

NYSE:HIW opened at $29.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The company has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.61 and a beta of 1.09. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.45 and a 1 year high of $32.76. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $26.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.01.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $214.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $209.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. Highwoods Properties's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Highwoods Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.400-3.68 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.7%. Highwoods Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 238.10%.

Highwoods Properties announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 22nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to purchase up to 9.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About Highwoods Properties

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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