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

Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,420,000 shares, a decrease of 11.2% from the January 15th total of 4,980,000 shares. Approximately 4.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 954,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.6 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties in the 4th quarter worth $59,000. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in Highwoods Properties by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 21,404 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $655,000 after buying an additional 784 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 86,200 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,636,000 after buying an additional 20,500 shares during the period. State of Wyoming increased its position in Highwoods Properties by 88.4% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 3,137 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 1,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 257,300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $7,868,000 after acquiring an additional 41,576 shares during the period. 96.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HIW traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $29.22. The stock had a trading volume of 1,289,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 932,986. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.76 and a beta of 1.24. Highwoods Properties has a 1 year low of $23.14 and a 1 year high of $36.78. The business's 50 day moving average price is $29.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.57.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 4.33% and a net margin of 12.37%. Research analysts expect that Highwoods Properties will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.84%. Highwoods Properties's payout ratio is currently 210.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on HIW shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Mizuho lifted their target price 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. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Highwoods Properties presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $30.71.

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.