Easterly Investment Partners LLC Grows Position in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

Easterly Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Free Report) by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 110,264 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 25,287 shares during the quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC owned 0.10% of Highwoods Properties worth $3,695,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HIW. PGGM Investments lifted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 77.9% in the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 3,629,485 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $95,347,000 after buying an additional 1,589,730 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 86.8% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,172,929 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $30,813,000 after buying an additional 545,066 shares during the period. M&G Plc acquired a new position in Highwoods Properties in the first quarter valued at approximately $10,047,000. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC acquired a new position in Highwoods Properties in the first quarter valued at approximately $8,444,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 109.5% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 552,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $14,501,000 after buying an additional 288,500 shares during the period. 96.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

NYSE:HIW traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $33.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,427,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 998,180. The firm has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.22 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $33.44 and a 200-day moving average of $29.64. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.17 and a 12 month high of $36.78.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.74). The business had revenue of $204.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.96 million. Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 17.40% and a return on equity of 6.05%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. Research analysts expect that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.92%. Highwoods Properties's payout ratio is 149.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HIW. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Highwoods Properties from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Truist Financial upped their target price on Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Highwoods Properties from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.33.

Highwoods Properties 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.