Strs Ohio Increases Stake in Highwoods Properties, Inc. $HIW

Key Points

• Strs Ohio boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 75.5% in the first quarter, ending with 189,185 shares valued at about $4.05 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding 96.31% of the stock; several other firms also increased or initiated positions during the quarter.
• Highwoods Properties posted solid operating updates, beating Q1 earnings expectations and raising its FY 2026 EPS guidance, while also maintaining a $0.50 quarterly dividend and authorizing a $250 million share repurchase program.

Strs Ohio lifted its position in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Free Report) by 75.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 189,185 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 81,397 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio owned 0.17% of Highwoods Properties worth $4,050,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 32.7% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 24,046 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 5,924 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Highwoods Properties in the first quarter worth about $235,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 36.8% during the first quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,060 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 3,246 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,045,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 269.1% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 20,437 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $438,000 after buying an additional 14,900 shares during the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HIW. Truist Financial increased their price target on Highwoods Properties from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Morgan Stanley raised Highwoods Properties from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Highwoods Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.11.

Highwoods Properties Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:HIW traded up $0.10 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $32.08. 48,893 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,555,372. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $27.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.50. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.45 and a 12-month high of $32.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of 38.18 and a beta of 1.07.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.13. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 3.97% and a net margin of 11.64%.The firm had revenue of $214.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $209.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $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. On average, research analysts anticipate that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.2%. Highwoods Properties's payout ratio is 238.10%.

Highwoods Properties declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 22nd that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the real estate investment trust to reacquire up to 9.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Highwoods Properties Profile

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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