Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Highwoods Properties, Inc. has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from six analysts, with five rating the stock as a hold and one as a buy, while the average target price is $32.00.
• The company reported earnings per share of $0.89, exceeding estimates, but its revenue of $200.60 million fell short of expectations, marking a 2.0% decline year-over-year.
• Highwoods Properties announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, representing a yield of 6.8%, although its dividend payout ratio stands at a high 168.07%.

Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the six brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $32.00.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial cut shares of Highwoods Properties from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $32.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Highwoods Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday.

Highwoods Properties Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of Highwoods Properties stock traded up $0.31 on Friday, hitting $29.18. 154,322 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 998,978. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $30.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.42. 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 has a 12-month low of $24.18 and a 12-month high of $36.78. The company has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 24.52 and a beta of 1.21.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.04. Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The business had revenue of $200.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $203.22 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. Highwoods Properties's revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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 year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. Highwoods Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 168.07%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 3.4% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 17,106 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 86,200 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,636,000 after purchasing an additional 20,500 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 4.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 534,155 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $15,832,000 after purchasing an additional 20,458 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 53.9% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 315,662 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $9,653,000 after purchasing an additional 110,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 35.7% in the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 28,920 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $857,000 after purchasing an additional 7,601 shares during the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Highwoods Properties Company 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.