Vestcor Inc Takes $1.29 Million Position in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

Vestcor Inc purchased a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 42,234 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,292,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,052 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,254 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,719 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 375.0% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 855 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 3.7% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 19,141 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $642,000 after purchasing an additional 682 shares during the period. 96.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on HIW shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com raised Highwoods Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Highwoods Properties currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.71.

Highwoods Properties Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE:HIW opened at $28.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $29.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.32. The company has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of 29.65 and a beta of 1.25. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.52 and a 1-year high of $36.78.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85. Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 4.33%. On average, equities analysts predict that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Highwoods Properties’s payout ratio is 210.53%.

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.