Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,540,000 shares, a growth of 25.1% from the May 15th total of 3,630,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 991,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.6 days. Currently, 4.3% of the company's stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on HIW. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 report on Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Highwoods Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.83.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

Shares of HIW traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $31.54. 969,875 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 930,207. Highwoods Properties has a twelve month low of $24.19 and a twelve 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 company has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.59 and a beta of 1.21. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $29.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.40.

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

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. Highwoods Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 124.22%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HIW. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Highwoods Properties by 375.0% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 855 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in Highwoods Properties in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in Highwoods Properties in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Highwoods Properties by 292.5% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,680 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in Highwoods Properties in the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.31% of the company's stock.

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.