Candriam S.C.A. Raises Stake in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) by 128.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 116,303 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 65,377 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A. owned approximately 0.11% of Highwoods Properties worth $3,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HIW. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 184.7% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 27,048 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $906,000 after purchasing an additional 17,548 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D acquired a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,085,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 436.3% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 215,724 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,229,000 after purchasing an additional 175,499 shares during the last quarter. B&I Capital AG lifted its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 111.7% in the 4th quarter. B&I Capital AG now owns 262,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,027,000 after purchasing an additional 138,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 65.1% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,562 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 2,587 shares during the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

HIW opened at $29.45 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $29.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.43. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.52 and a 12-month high of $36.78. 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 market cap of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00 and a beta of 1.25.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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, sell-side analysts expect that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.79%. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 210.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HIW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com raised Highwoods Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho increased their target price on Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Highwoods Properties presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.71.

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.