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

Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW – Get Rating) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, April 22nd, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of 0.50 per share by the real estate investment trust on Tuesday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 20th.

Highwoods Properties has a dividend payout ratio of 156.3% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Analysts expect Highwoods Properties to earn $3.97 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 50.4%.

NYSE:HIW traded down $0.94 on Friday, reaching $43.92. 31,335 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 787,671. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50 day moving average is $44.11 and its 200-day moving average is $44.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Highwoods Properties has a 1-year low of $40.85 and a 1-year high of $48.98.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $203.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $199.79 million. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 40.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Highwoods Properties will post 3.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on HIW shares. TheStreet upgraded Highwoods Properties from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 22nd. StockNews.com cut Highwoods Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Highwoods Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $53.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Highwoods Properties from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 10th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on Highwoods Properties in a report on Friday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $46.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.60.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Comerica Bank raised its position in Highwoods Properties by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 58,793 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,525,000 after buying an additional 814 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,488 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509 shares during the last quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY increased its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 25,527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 1,634 shares during the last quarter. Vident Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Vident Investment Advisory LLC now owns 55,049 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,454,000 after purchasing an additional 1,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank increased its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 76,013 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,934 shares during the last quarter. 96.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Highwoods Properties Company Profile (Get Rating)

Highwoods Properties, Inc, headquartered in Raleigh, is a publicly-traded (NYSE:HIW) real estate investment trust (REIT) and a member of the S&P MidCap 400 Index. Highwoods is a fully-integrated office REIT that owns, develops, acquires, leases and manages properties primarily in the best business districts (BBDs) of Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, Richmond and Tampa.

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