Commerce Bank Lowers Holdings in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

Commerce Bank decreased its holdings in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) by 5.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,930 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,089 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Highwoods Properties were worth $1,707,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 45.5% during the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 141.3% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,073 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties during the first quarter valued at about $107,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 269.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,221 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 55.8% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 1,167 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Highwoods Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the company from $31.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped 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 report on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.20.

Highwoods Properties Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE HIW opened at $31.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.58 and a 52 week high of $36.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.85 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a fifty day moving average of $33.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.13.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.74). Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 6.05% and a net margin of 17.40%. The firm had revenue of $204.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $204.96 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. Highwoods Properties’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.26%. Highwoods Properties’s payout ratio is 149.25%.

About Highwoods Properties

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.