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

Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of 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 daily volume of 989,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.3 days.

Highwoods Properties Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of HIW stock traded up $0.50 on Friday, hitting $30.27. The 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 current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.59 and a beta of 1.24. Highwoods Properties has a 1 year low of $21.46 and a 1 year high of $36.78. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $30.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.48.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.74). The firm had revenue of $204.30 million during 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%. Highwoods Properties’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Highwoods Properties will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.61%. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 149.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Highwoods Properties from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Mizuho lifted their price target on Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Highwoods Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $31.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.86.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Highwoods Properties in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Highwoods Properties by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,052 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Highwoods Properties by 269.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,221 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Highwoods Properties by 55.8% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 35.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,114 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

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.