Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Highwoods Properties has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from six analysts, with five recommending a hold and one a buy.
• The company's average 12-month price target is $31.60, with some analysts setting their targets between $30.00 and $33.00.
• Highwoods Properties recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50, reflecting a 6.2% yield, while maintaining a high payout ratio of 168.07%.

Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the six analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.60.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Highwoods Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday.

Insider Transactions at Highwoods Properties

In other Highwoods Properties news, Director David John Hartzell sold 4,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.10, for a total value of $138,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 27,489 shares in the company, valued at $882,396.90. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 13,033 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $386,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 5.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 383 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV raised its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 15,397 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $456,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 9,146 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the period. Finally, GC Wealth Management RIA LLC raised its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC now owns 12,205 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the period. 96.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

Shares of HIW stock opened at $32.43 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $30.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.97. The company has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.25 and a beta of 1.24. Highwoods Properties has a 12 month low of $24.18 and a 12 month high of $36.78.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $200.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. Highwoods Properties has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.370-3.450 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Highwoods Properties will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Highwoods Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 168.07%.

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.

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