Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 17,538 Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. $HIW

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 0.1%, now owning approximately $488.66 million worth of shares.
• Highwoods Properties has seen changes from several hedge funds, with institutions holding 96.31% of the stock, indicating significant institutional interest.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, yielding 6.8%, although its payout ratio stands at 168.07%, suggesting potential sustainability concerns.

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Free Report) by 0.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,486,556 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 17,538 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 15.29% of Highwoods Properties worth $488,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of HIW. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Highwoods Properties during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Avalon Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties during the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY bought a new position in Highwoods Properties during the first quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Highwoods Properties during the first quarter worth about $82,000. 96.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Highwoods Properties Stock Up 1.9%

NYSE:HIW traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $29.41. 103,029 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 998,383. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $30.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.42. The firm has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.73 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.18 and a twelve month high of $36.78.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $200.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.22 million. Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

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

Highwoods Properties 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.