UBS Group AG Sells 166,720 Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. $HIW

Key Points

• UBS Group AG reduced its stake in Highwoods Properties by 31.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 166,720 shares and leaving it with 357,300 shares valued at about $9.2 million.
• Highwoods Properties beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.29 versus the $0.16 estimate and revenue of $214.03 million, up 6.8% year over year.
• The REIT is returning capital to shareholders through a $0.50 quarterly dividend and a new $250 million share buyback program, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus “Hold.”

UBS Group AG cut its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Free Report) by 31.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 357,300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 166,720 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned 0.33% of Highwoods Properties worth $9,225,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,903,497 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $436,448,000 after purchasing an additional 407,406 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 131.1% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 24,133 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $631,000 after purchasing an additional 13,689 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 68,836 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,777,000 after purchasing an additional 4,652 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 33.7% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,159 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 11,022 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 954 shares in the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HIW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Highwoods Properties from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $24.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.78.

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

Shares of HIW opened at $25.48 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $22.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.08. The company has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.33 and a beta of 1.08. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.45 and a twelve month high of $32.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $214.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $209.06 million. Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 3.97%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. Highwoods Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.400-3.68 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.9%. Highwoods Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 238.10%.

Highwoods Properties declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 22nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to buy up to 9.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is 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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