Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.50

Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 17th, NASDAQ reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of 0.50 per share by the real estate investment trust on Tuesday, June 11th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th.

Highwoods Properties has increased its dividend payment by an average of 1.4% per year over the last three years. Highwoods Properties has a dividend payout ratio of 487.8% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities analysts expect Highwoods Properties to earn $3.53 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 56.7%.

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

HIW traded up $0.14 during trading on Thursday, hitting $23.96. 763,616 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,289,742. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a PE ratio of 17.24 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.07. Highwoods Properties has a 1 year low of $17.06 and a 1 year high of $26.27.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HIW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Highwoods Properties from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Highwoods Properties in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Highwoods Properties from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.38.

Institutional Trading of Highwoods Properties

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 26.3% in the first quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 10,207 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 2,125 shares during the period. Worth Venture Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Highwoods Properties in the 1st quarter worth about $229,000. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Highwoods Properties in the first quarter worth about $215,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Highwoods Properties in the fourth quarter worth about $205,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 189.2% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 8,321 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $191,000 after buying an additional 5,444 shares during the period. 96.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.