SG Americas Securities LLC Purchases Shares of 35,246 Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 35,246 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,045,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HIW. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Highwoods Properties by 375.0% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 855 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties during the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 124.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,434 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,351 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 363.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 2,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 88.4% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 3,137 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 1,472 shares during the period. 96.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

HIW opened at $31.42 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of 19.52 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.38. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.19 and a fifty-two week high of $36.78.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.01. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 21.53%. The business had revenue of $200.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $201.31 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. Highwoods Properties’s revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.37%. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 124.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Highwoods Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.83.

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.