Public Sector Pension Investment Board Acquires 125,818 Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Highwoods Properties by 47.6%, now owning 389,924 shares valued at approximately $11.56 million.
• Highwoods Properties declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50, translating to an annualized yield of 6.9%, despite having a payout ratio of 168.07%.
• Several analysts have assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" on Highwoods Properties, with a price target averaging $32.00, following recent adjustments by various research firms.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Free Report) by 47.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 389,924 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 125,818 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.36% of Highwoods Properties worth $11,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Highwoods Properties by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 17,106 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in Highwoods Properties by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 86,200 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,636,000 after buying an additional 20,500 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Highwoods Properties by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 534,155 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $15,832,000 after buying an additional 20,458 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position in Highwoods Properties by 53.9% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 315,662 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $9,653,000 after buying an additional 110,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in Highwoods Properties by 35.7% during the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 28,920 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $857,000 after buying an additional 7,601 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on HIW shares. Truist Financial cut shares of Highwoods Properties from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $32.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Highwoods Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Highwoods Properties presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.00.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

HIW stock traded down $0.37 on Friday, reaching $29.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 844,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,004,019. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.18 and a 52 week high of $36.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $30.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The company has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.62 and a beta of 1.21.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $200.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.22 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. Highwoods Properties's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Highwoods Properties's payout ratio is currently 168.07%.

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.