Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Invests $449,000 in Highwoods Properties, Inc. $HIW

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC has invested approximately $449,000 in Highwoods Properties, acquiring 14,432 shares, indicating growing institutional interest in the real estate investment trust.
• Highwoods Properties reported $0.89 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst estimates of $0.85, while setting its FY 2025 guidance at 3.370-3.450 EPS.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, yielding 6.3%, but has a high dividend payout ratio of 168.07%, raising concerns about sustainability.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 14,432 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $449,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Avalon Trust Co acquired a new position in Highwoods Properties in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 292.5% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,680 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,252 shares in the last quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY acquired a new position in Highwoods Properties in the first quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Highwoods Properties in the first quarter valued at approximately $82,000. 96.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HIW opened at $31.77 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.18 and a twelve month high of $36.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $30.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.02. The stock has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.69 and a beta of 1.24.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.04. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 5.57% and a net margin of 16.15%.The company had revenue of $200.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $203.22 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Highwoods Properties has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.370-3.450 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Highwoods Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 168.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Highwoods Properties

In related news, Director David John Hartzell sold 4,300 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 27,489 shares of the company's stock, valued at $882,396.90. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HIW. Wall Street Zen downgraded Highwoods Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Mizuho upped 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 upped 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, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Highwoods Properties in a report on Saturday, September 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Highwoods Properties presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.60.

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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