Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,260,000 shares, an increase of 31.5% from the March 15th total of 4,000,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,060,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.0 days. Currently, 5.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,265,824 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $99,869,000 after buying an additional 556,828 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Highwoods Properties by 40.9% during the 3rd 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Highwoods Properties by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,133,242 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $65,235,000 after purchasing an additional 71,670 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Highwoods Properties by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,902,036 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $63,754,000 after purchasing an additional 12,958 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,854,835 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $56,721,000 after purchasing an additional 416,791 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HIW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Highwoods Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Highwoods Properties in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Highwoods Properties currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.50.

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

NYSE HIW traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $28.12. 76,137 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 911,409. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.37. Highwoods Properties has a 1 year low of $24.07 and a 1 year high of $36.78. The company has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.56 and a beta of 1.15.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 4.33% and a net margin of 12.37%. On average, analysts predict that Highwoods Properties will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.11%. Highwoods Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 210.53%.

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.