Versor Investments LP Buys 13,100 Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. $HIW

Key Points

• Versor Investments LP increased its stake in Highwoods Properties by 55.8%, acquiring an additional 13,100 shares, bringing its total holdings to 36,580 shares valued at approximately $1,084,000.
• Highwoods Properties reported a 0.89 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, despite a year-over-year revenue decrease of 2%.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share with a yield of 6.8%, despite a high payout ratio of 168.07%.

Versor Investments LP raised its holdings in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Free Report) by 55.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,580 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 13,100 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP's holdings in Highwoods Properties were worth $1,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,105 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,278 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,908 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $205,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 22,514 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $667,000 after buying an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 17,106 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.31% of the company's stock.

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HIW traded up $0.6730 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $29.8830. 753,479 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,312,695. The company has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.11 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.18 and a 52-week high of $36.78. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $30.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.42.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $200.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $203.22 million. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 5.57% and a net margin of 16.15%.Highwoods Properties's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. Highwoods Properties has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.370-3.450 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Highwoods Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 168.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on HIW shares. Truist Financial cut Highwoods Properties from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $32.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen cut Highwoods Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.