Insider Selling: Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) Director Sells 4,300 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Highwoods Properties director David John Hartzell sold 4,300 shares for $138,030, reducing his ownership of the stock by 13.53%.
• The company reported earnings of $0.89 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, while its revenue declined by 2.0% year-over-year.
• Highwoods Properties declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, achieving a yield of 6.2%, but its payout ratio stands at 168.07%.

Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) Director David John Hartzell sold 4,300 shares of Highwoods Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.10, for a total value of $138,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 27,489 shares in the company, valued at approximately $882,396.90. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Highwoods Properties Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of Highwoods Properties stock traded down $0.59 during trading on Friday, hitting $31.58. 1,948,052 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,086,569. 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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is $30.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.77. The firm has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.54 and a beta of 1.27. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.18 and a 52-week high of $36.78.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.04. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 5.57% and a net margin of 16.15%.The firm had revenue of $200.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $203.22 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Highwoods Properties has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.370-3.450 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. Highwoods Properties's dividend payout ratio is 168.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HIW. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Highwoods Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Highwoods Properties from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.17.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Avalon Trust Co acquired a new position in Highwoods Properties in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Highwoods Properties by 292.5% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,680 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 1,252 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management increased its position in Highwoods Properties by 67.3% during the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,803 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 725 shares during the period. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.31% of the company's stock.

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.