Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $27.73, but opened at $28.84. Highwoods Properties shares last traded at $27.09, with a volume of 116,989 shares trading hands.

The real estate investment trust reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $200.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $201.31 million. Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 4.33%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.97%. Highwoods Properties’s payout ratio is 210.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on HIW shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Highwoods Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Highwoods Properties has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HIW. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 537.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 485,368 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $16,264,000 after acquiring an additional 409,258 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 40.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,130,452 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $107,155,000 after acquiring an additional 908,401 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties during the third quarter worth approximately $208,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,052 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC grew its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 44.4% during the fourth quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 70,426 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,154,000 after acquiring an additional 21,655 shares during the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Highwoods Properties Trading Up 0.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a PE ratio of 30.22 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $28.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.17.

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.