United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Invests $551,000 in Highwoods Properties, Inc. $HIW

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 18,263 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $551,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HIW. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 177,942 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,275,000 after buying an additional 19,998 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 15.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 822,655 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $24,383,000 after acquiring an additional 110,489 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 10.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,243 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 292.5% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,680 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Highwoods Properties by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,846 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $555,000 after buying an additional 1,534 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

Highwoods Properties Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:HIW opened at $30.61 on Tuesday. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.45 and a 1 year high of $35.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $31.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14 and a beta of 1.05.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.01). Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 7.06% and a net margin of 20.74%.The company had revenue of $216.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $212.15 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. Highwoods Properties’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Highwoods Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.460-3.700 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.5%. Highwoods Properties’s payout ratio is currently 131.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HIW. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Highwoods Properties from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Highwoods Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Mizuho increased their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.67.

Highwoods Properties Profile

Highwoods Properties, Inc is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, leases and manages office properties. The company’s portfolio is primarily focused on Class A office space, with an emphasis on high-quality buildings in key urban and suburban submarkets. Highwoods seeks to generate long-term, recurring revenues through a mix of in-place lease renewals, strategic dispositions and build-to-suit developments. Its asset management platform drives operational efficiencies and tenant service initiatives across its holdings.

Founded in 1970 and headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, Highwoods Properties has expanded its presence to eight major metropolitan regions across the Southeastern United States and Texas.