Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $22.47 Million Stock Holdings in Highwoods Properties, Inc. $HIW

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. has decreased its stake in Highwoods Properties, Inc. by 3.9%, now holding approximately 0.70% of the company, valued at $22.47 million.
• Recent analyst ratings for Highwoods Properties include a downgrade from "hold" to "sell" by Wall Street Zen and a new consensus target price of $32.00.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, yielding 6.8%, but has a high dividend payout ratio of 168.07%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its stake in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 757,920 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 30,773 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.70% of Highwoods Properties worth $22,465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in Highwoods Properties in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in Highwoods Properties in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in Highwoods Properties in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY bought a new position in Highwoods Properties in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in Highwoods Properties in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Institutional investors own 96.31% of the company's stock.

Highwoods Properties Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of HIW traded down $0.1450 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $29.1450. 82,958 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 997,454. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.18 and a fifty-two week high of $36.78. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $30.40 and a 200-day moving average of $29.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.49 and a beta of 1.21.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 prior year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. Highwoods Properties's revenue for the quarter 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, research analysts expect that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Highwoods Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 168.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HIW. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Highwoods Properties from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $32.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Highwoods Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.00.

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.