Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 30,773 Shares of 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. cut its holdings in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Free Report) by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 757,920 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 30,773 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.70% of Highwoods Properties worth $22,465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HIW. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Highwoods Properties during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Avalon Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties during the first quarter valued at $35,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in Highwoods Properties in the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY acquired a new stake in Highwoods Properties in the first quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Highwoods Properties during the 1st quarter worth about $82,000. 96.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HIW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial cut 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 report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Highwoods Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.00.

Highwoods Properties Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE HIW traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $28.86. 1,084,801 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,251,484. The company has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.25 and a beta of 1.21. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.18 and a 12 month 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 simple moving average of $30.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.42.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $200.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $203.22 million. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 5.57% and a net margin of 16.15%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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 paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. Highwoods Properties's payout ratio is presently 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.