Janus Henderson Group PLC Boosts Position in Highwoods Properties, Inc. $HIW

Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) by 6.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,639,419 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 98,531 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned approximately 1.49% of Highwoods Properties worth $35,139,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,903,497 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $436,448,000 after purchasing an additional 407,406 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Highwoods Properties by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,699,130 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $172,972,000 after buying an additional 81,348 shares in the last quarter. Aew Capital Management L P lifted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Aew Capital Management L P now owns 2,433,243 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $62,826,000 after buying an additional 88,672 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 0.7% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,205,348 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $70,174,000 after buying an additional 14,410 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Highwoods Properties by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,149,230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $55,503,000 after acquiring an additional 16,327 shares in the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on HIW shares. Mizuho upped their target price on Highwoods Properties from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Highwoods Properties from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $23.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Highwoods Properties has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.00.

Highwoods Properties Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE HIW opened at $33.13 on Monday. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.45 and a 12 month high of $35.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $30.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.13. The stock has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.80 and a beta of 1.05.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.01). Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 7.06% and a net margin of 20.74%.The firm had revenue of $216.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.15 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. The business’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, equities analysts forecast that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 22nd that permits the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the real estate investment trust to repurchase up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 131.58%.

About Highwoods Properties

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.