Barclays PLC Increases Position in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) by 537.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 485,368 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 409,258 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.46% of Highwoods Properties worth $16,264,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties during the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Highwoods Properties by 269.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,221 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 2,350 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 55.8% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 35.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,114 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,026 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

HIW stock opened at $31.07 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.19 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $33.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.37 and a 12-month high of $36.78.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.74). The business 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Highwoods Properties’s payout ratio is currently 149.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Highwoods Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $31.00 to $35.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Highwoods Properties from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.20.

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.