Nicola Wealth Management LTD. Makes New $587,000 Investment in Highwoods Properties, Inc. $HIW

Nicola Wealth Management LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 19,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $587,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in Highwoods Properties during the first quarter worth $28,000. Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in Highwoods Properties during the first quarter worth $35,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Highwoods Properties by 292.5% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,680 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,252 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in Highwoods Properties during the fourth quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY bought a new position in Highwoods Properties during the first quarter worth $59,000. 96.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Highwoods Properties Trading Up 1.6%

HIW stock opened at $32.31 on Friday. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.18 and a 52 week high of $36.78. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. The company has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of 27.15 and a beta of 1.27.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.04. Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The business had revenue of $200.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.22 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. Highwoods Properties’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Highwoods Properties has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.370-3.450 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.2%. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 168.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on HIW shares. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Highwoods Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Highwoods Properties currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.17.

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.