Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) Short Interest Down 5.8% in March

Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,570,000 shares, a drop of 5.8% from the February 29th total of 4,850,000 shares. Approximately 4.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,350,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Highwoods Properties Trading Down 4.2 %

Shares of HIW traded down $1.11 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $25.07. 910,094 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,389,372. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Highwoods Properties has a 1 year low of $17.06 and a 1 year high of $26.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83 and a beta of 1.23. The business's 50-day moving average price is $23.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.79.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.98%. Highwoods Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 143.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HIW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Highwoods Properties from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Highwoods Properties from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Highwoods Properties in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $24.38.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Highwoods Properties during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $700,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 113.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 110,576 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,539,000 after acquiring an additional 58,748 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA boosted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 380.0% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 131,015 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,008,000 after acquiring an additional 103,721 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 73.0% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,275 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 53,852 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,237,000 after acquiring an additional 2,530 shares in the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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