Short Interest in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) Decreases By 15.1%

Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,620,000 shares, a decline of 15.1% from the July 15th total of 5,440,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 845,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.86.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

HIW stock traded down $0.26 on Friday, hitting $31.70. The company had a trading volume of 589,942 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,076,284. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. Highwoods Properties has a 12-month low of $17.06 and a 12-month high of $32.22. The stock has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.98 and a beta of 1.26. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.03.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.31). The business had revenue of $204.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $205.06 million. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 6.33% and a net margin of 18.30%. The company’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Highwoods Properties will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.31%. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 163.93%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in Highwoods Properties in the 2nd quarter worth $251,000. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 15.2% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 43,752 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,149,000 after buying an additional 5,780 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC boosted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 61.3% during the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 28,033 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $736,000 after acquiring an additional 10,652 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Highwoods Properties by 2.4% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 21,537 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $566,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties during the 2nd quarter valued at about $218,000. 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.