Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) saw a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,220,000 shares, a growth of 19.2% from the December 15th total of 4,380,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 989,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.3 days.

Highwoods Properties Trading Up 1.7 %

HIW stock traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $30.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 575,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 821,842. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.31. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.48. Highwoods Properties has a 1 year low of $21.46 and a 1 year high of $36.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59 and a beta of 1.24.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.74). The firm 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Highwoods Properties will post 3.61 EPS for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors 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 6.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Highwoods Properties’s payout ratio is currently 149.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on HIW shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Highwoods Properties from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Highwoods Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.86.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 1.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,289,806 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $244,281,000 after acquiring an additional 124,646 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 40.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,130,452 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $107,155,000 after acquiring an additional 908,401 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 131.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,708,996 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $90,778,000 after acquiring an additional 1,536,067 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 1.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,061,572 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $69,083,000 after purchasing an additional 34,885 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,902,036 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $63,754,000 after purchasing an additional 12,958 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

Highwoods Properties Company 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.