Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Raises Stake in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Free Report) by 403.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 67,544 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 54,115 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.06% of Highwoods Properties worth $2,263,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 245.6% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 430,975 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $11,283,000 after purchasing an additional 306,265 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 9.1% during the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 22,844 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $598,000 after buying an additional 1,915 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 11.0% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 339,447 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,887,000 after buying an additional 33,719 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 5,304 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $139,000 after acquiring an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 39,505 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,034,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.31% of the company's stock.

Highwoods Properties Trading Down 2.7 %

Highwoods Properties stock traded down $0.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $32.64. 1,196,760 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 988,232. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $33.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.29. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.17 and a 52-week high of $36.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.03 and a beta of 1.26.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.74). The company had revenue of $204.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $204.96 million. Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 17.40% and a return on equity of 6.05%. Highwoods Properties's quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.62 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given 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 6.13%. Highwoods Properties's dividend payout ratio is presently 149.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Highwoods Properties from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $22.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.83.

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.