Metis Global Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,158 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,242 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Highwoods Properties were worth $372,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Highwoods Properties in the third quarter worth $48,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake 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 worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Highwoods Properties during the 4th quarter valued at about $155,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Highwoods Properties by 47.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,752 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 1,531 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

Highwoods Properties Trading Up 2.7 %

NYSE:HIW opened at $28.84 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 30.35 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.48. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.52 and a 12 month high of $36.78.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.85. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 4.33% and a net margin of 12.37%. Research analysts forecast that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Highwoods Properties’s payout ratio is currently 210.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com raised Highwoods Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on Highwoods Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.71.

Highwoods Properties Profile

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.