Brokerages Set Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) Target Price at $31.83

Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.83.

HIW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Highwoods Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th.

Institutional Trading of Highwoods Properties

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 375.0% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 855 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Highwoods Properties during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Avalon Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Highwoods Properties during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 292.5% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,680 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Highwoods Properties during the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.31% of the company's stock.

Highwoods Properties Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:HIW traded down $0.21 on Thursday, reaching $31.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,257,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 932,215. Highwoods Properties has a 12-month low of $24.19 and a 12-month high of $36.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $29.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.38.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $200.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $201.31 million. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 21.53%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Highwoods Properties will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.43%. Highwoods Properties's dividend payout ratio is presently 124.22%.

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.