1,070,195 Shares in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) Bought by Norges Bank

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,070,195 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $32,727,000. Norges Bank owned 1.01% of Highwoods Properties at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Aew Capital Management L P bought a new stake in shares of Highwoods Properties during the fourth quarter worth $31,250,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 908,401 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 55.9% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,267,553 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $38,762,000 after purchasing an additional 454,670 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 409,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 319.1% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 479,972 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $14,678,000 after purchasing an additional 365,454 shares during the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

NYSE HIW traded down $0.91 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $26.01. The company had a trading volume of 61,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,033,394. The company has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a PE ratio of 27.38 and a beta of 1.15. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $28.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.76. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.52 and a twelve month high of $36.78.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.85. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 4.33% and a net margin of 12.37%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.69%. Highwoods Properties's payout ratio is 210.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.