Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) Signals Near-Term Pullback Despite Leasing Momentum

Leasing momentum and a steady dividend program contrast with technical momentum that favors short-term downside pressure. Valuation metrics remain elevated, suggesting earnings and cash-flow dynamics will govern price action over the next weeks.

Recent News

On July 24, 2025 the Board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.50 per common share payable September 9, 2025 (record date August 18, 2025), and a preferred dividend payable September 2, 2025 (record date August 15, 2025). On July 29, 2025 the company released its Second Quarter 2025 results and related materials to investors.

Technical Analysis

ADX stands at 26.77, indicating a strong underlying trend; directional indicators favor downside as DI+ decreased to 23.73 while DI- recorded a dip-and-reversal that implies renewed selling pressure. That combination links to the current over-valued forecast and biases near-term price direction lower.

MACD sits at 0.47 and trends downward with the MACD below the 0.55 signal line, indicating bearish momentum; that weakness complements the directional indicator setup and increases the chance of further short-term concession to valuation.

MRO reads 7.38 and shows a peak-and-reversal pattern; the positive MRO level indicates price sits above the model target, which generally points toward mean reversion and potential downward pressure on the price relative to fundamentals.

RSI at 56.61 registered a peak-and-reversal; that removes immediate overbought risk but retains room for further pullback before reaching oversold territory, aligning with the broader bearish momentum signals.

Price sits at $31.32, above the 200-day average of $28.99 (supportive long-term bias) but below the 20-day average of $31.93 and beneath the 12-day EMA that showed a recent peak-and-reversal. Short-term moving averages therefore reflect a minor pullback inside a longer-term uptrend; the super-trend lower level near $30.98 and the 200-day average provide structural support.

Bollinger band edges at roughly $31.61 (lower) and $32.26 (upper) place the market near the lower band, suggesting heightened probability for a short-term mean reversion or continued pressure if momentum sustains. Ichimoku components cluster between $29.14 and $31.84, offering nearby support/resistance context consistent with the moving averages.

 


Fundamental Analysis

Revenue totaled $200,600,000 with reported revenue growth at 0.11% and revenue growth year-over-year at -103.49%. Operating income registered $51,947,000 while EBIT reached $56,886,000, producing an EBIT margin of 28.36%—above the industry peer mean of 17.88% and slightly above the industry peer median of 27.56%—though quarter-over-quarter EBIT margin contracted by 58.41% and year-over-year by 42.33%.

EPS arrived at $0.17 versus an estimate of $0.16, producing an EPS surprise of 6.25%. Funds and cash metrics show operating cash flow $116,531,000 and free cash flow $116,531,000 with a free cash flow yield of 3.65%, which sits above the industry peer mean of 2.60% and supports valuation resilience despite stretched multiples.

Market multiples appear elevated: trailing P/E stands at 178.18 and forward P/E at 305.91, both above the industry peer mean (trailing mean ~119.90, forward mean ~109.56). Price-to-book at 1.36 sits modestly above the industry peer mean of 1.22; price-to-sales near 15.91 marginally exceeds the peer mean of 15.12. Those multiples align with the WMDST valuation finding that the stock trades over-valued.

Leverage and coverage metrics show total debt $3,334,385,000 and debt-to-assets 55.04%; debt-to-EBITDA equals 25.34 and interest coverage near 1.51. Return metrics remain compressed: return on equity 0.80% and return on assets 0.31%. Dividend details present a $0.5052 annual rate and a dividend yield of 1.71%, paired with a dividend coverage ratio of 34.60% and a dividend payout ratio at 289.05%.

Valuation note: WMDST values the stock as over-valued. Elevated P/E multiples, forward earnings multiples, and a high payout ratio combine with weaker QoQ margin trends to justify the over-valued classification despite favorable free cash flow yield relative to peers.

MOST-RECENT QUARTERLY REPORT
REPORT PERIOD ENDING: 2025-06-30
REPORT DATE: 2025-07-29
NEXT REPORT DATE: 2025-10-28
CASH FLOW  Begin Period Cash Flow 39.5 M
 Operating Cash Flow 116.5 M
 Capital Expenditures -56.21 M
 Change In Working Capital 18.8 M
 Dividends Paid -54.50 M
 Cash Flow Delta 494.0 K
 End Period Cash Flow 40.0 M
 
INCOME STATEMENT REVENUE
 Total Revenue 200.6 M
 Forward Revenue 28.0 M
COSTS
 Cost Of Revenue 63.7 M
 Depreciation 74.7 M
 Depreciation and Amortization 74.7 M
 Research and Development
 Total Operating Expenses 148.7 M
PROFITABILITY
 Gross Profit 136.9 M
 EBITDA 131.6 M
 EBIT 56.9 M
 Operating Income 51.9 M
 Interest Income
 Interest Expense 37.7 M
 Net Interest Income -37.66 M
 Income Before Tax 19.2 M
 Tax Provision
 Tax Rate 21.0 %
 Net Income 18.9 M
 Net Income From Continuing Operations 19.2 M
EARNINGS
 EPS Estimate 0.16
 EPS Actual 0.17
 EPS Difference 0.01
 EPS Surprise 6.25 %
 Forward EPS 0.10
 
BALANCE SHEET ASSETS
 Total Assets 6.1 B
 Intangible Assets
 Net Tangible Assets 2.4 B
 Total Current Assets 458.0 M
 Cash and Short-Term Investments 21.2 M
 Cash 21.2 M
 Net Receivables 342.3 M
 Inventory
 Long-Term Investments
LIABILITIES
 Accounts Payable
 Short-Term Debt
 Total Current Liabilities 281.2 M
 Net Debt 3.3 B
 Total Debt 3.3 B
 Total Liabilities 3.6 B
EQUITY
 Total Equity 2.3 B
 Retained Earnings -802.63 M
VALUATION & PER-SHARE METRICS EQUITY & PER-SHARE METRICS
 Book Value Per-Share 21.74
 Shares Outstanding 107.887 M
 Revenue Per-Share 1.86
VALUATION
 Market Capitalization 3.2 B
 Enterprise Value 6.5 B
 Enterprise Multiple 49.449
Enterprise Multiple QoQ 61.116 %
Enterprise Multiple YoY 48.75 %
Enterprise Multiple IPRWA high: 87.53
mean: 61.281
median: 55.51
HIW: 49.449
low: -10.887
 EV/R 32.431
CAPITAL STRUCTURE
 Asset To Equity 2.583
 Asset To Liability 1.676
 Debt To Capital 0.587
 Debt To Assets 0.55
Debt To Assets QoQ 0.151 %
Debt To Assets YoY 2.975 %
Debt To Assets IPRWA high: 0.688
HIW: 0.55
mean: 0.483
median: 0.435
low: 0.363
 Debt To Equity 1.422
Debt To Equity QoQ 1.436 %
Debt To Equity YoY 6.259 %
Debt To Equity IPRWA high: 4.522
mean: 1.588
HIW: 1.422
median: 1.287
low: 0.688
PRICE-BASED VALUATION
 Price To Book (P/B) 1.361
Price To Book QoQ 5.722 %
Price To Book YoY 23.281 %
Price To Book IPRWA high: 3.547
HIW: 1.361
mean: 1.223
median: 0.991
low: 0.018
 Price To Earnings (P/E) 178.183
Price To Earnings QoQ 469.996 %
Price To Earnings YoY 323.147 %
Price To Earnings IPRWA high: 463.524
HIW: 178.183
median: 122.356
mean: 119.901
low: -80.358
 PE/G Ratio -2.191
 Price To Sales (P/S) 15.915
Price To Sales QoQ 3.984 %
Price To Sales YoY 23.717 %
Price To Sales IPRWA high: 19.719
median: 16.62
HIW: 15.915
mean: 15.121
low: 0.163
FORWARD MULTIPLES
Forward P/E 305.911
Forward PE/G -3.762
Forward P/S 114.115
EFFICIENCY OPERATIONAL
 Operating Leverage -538.989
ASSET & SALES
 Asset Turnover Ratio 0.033
Asset Turnover Ratio QoQ -0.151 %
Asset Turnover Ratio YoY -3.248 %
Asset Turnover Ratio IPRWA high: 0.044
HIW: 0.033
mean: 0.027
median: 0.027
low: 0.019
 Receivables Turnover 0.588
Receivables Turnover Ratio QoQ -45.932 %
Receivables Turnover Ratio YoY -0.799 %
Receivables Turnover Ratio IPRWA high: 24.779
mean: 9.448
median: 7.65
low: 0.648
HIW: 0.588
 Inventory Turnover
Inventory Turnover Ratio QoQ
Inventory Turnover Ratio YoY
Inventory Turnover Ratio IPRWA
 Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) 155.301
CASH CYCLE
 Cash Conversion Cycle Days (CCC)
Cash Conversion Cycle Days QoQ
Cash Conversion Cycle Days YoY
Cash Conversion Cycle Days IPRWA
CAPITAL DEPLOYMENT
 Cash Conversion Ratio 1.135
 CapEx To Revenue -0.28
 CapEx To Depreciation -0.753
 
CAPITAL, LIQUIDITY & COVERAGE CAPITAL STRUCTURE
 Total Capital 5.7 B
 Net Invested Capital 5.7 B
 Invested Capital 5.7 B
 Net Tangible Assets 2.4 B
 Net Working Capital 176.8 M
LIQUIDITY
 Cash Ratio 0.075
 Current Ratio 1.629
Current Ratio QoQ -7.342 %
Current Ratio YoY 4.614 %
Current Ratio IPRWA high: 3.092
HIW: 1.629
mean: 1.175
median: 1.134
low: 0.177
 Quick Ratio
Quick Ratio QoQ
Quick Ratio YoY
Quick Ratio IPRWA
COVERAGE & LEVERAGE
 Debt To EBITDA 25.344
 Cost Of Debt 0.892 %
 Interest Coverage Ratio 1.51
Interest Coverage Ratio QoQ -59.499 %
Interest Coverage Ratio YoY -46.137 %
Interest Coverage Ratio IPRWA high: 3.58
HIW: 1.51
median: 1.224
mean: 1.126
low: -2.123
 Operating Cash Flow Ratio 0.326
TIMING / LIQUIDITY
 Days Payables Outstanding (DPO)
DIVIDENDS
 Dividend Coverage Ratio 0.346
 Dividend Payout Ratio 2.891
 Dividend Rate 0.51
 Dividend Yield 0.017
PERFORMANCE GROWTH
 Asset Growth Rate -0.272 %
 Revenue Growth 0.108 %
Revenue Growth QoQ -104.317 %
Revenue Growth YoY -103.491 %
Revenue Growth IPRWA high: 7.066 %
mean: 0.134 %
HIW: 0.108 %
median: -0.793 %
low: -5.333 %
 Earnings Growth -81.319 %
Earnings Growth QoQ -121.459 %
Earnings Growth YoY -159.793 %
Earnings Growth IPRWA high: 92.308 %
mean: 19.04 %
median: 9.677 %
low: -25.0 %
HIW: -81.319 %
MARGINS
 Gross Margin 68.268 %
Gross Margin QoQ 1.07 %
Gross Margin YoY -0.292 %
Gross Margin IPRWA high: 89.423 %
HIW: 68.268 %
median: 67.12 %
mean: 61.526 %
low: 37.677 %
 EBIT Margin 28.358 %
EBIT Margin QoQ -58.413 %
EBIT Margin YoY -42.329 %
EBIT Margin IPRWA high: 38.087 %
HIW: 28.358 %
median: 27.559 %
mean: 17.882 %
low: -45.873 %
 Return On Sales (ROS) 25.896 %
Return On Sales QoQ -62.024 %
Return On Sales YoY -47.336 %
Return On Sales IPRWA high: 34.622 %
HIW: 25.896 %
median: 25.804 %
mean: 23.131 %
low: -21.357 %
CASH FLOW
 Free Cash Flow (FCF) 116.5 M
 Free Cash Flow Yield 3.65 %
Free Cash Flow Yield QoQ 141.722 %
Free Cash Flow Yield YoY -26.024 %
Free Cash Flow Yield IPRWA high: 5.703 %
HIW: 3.65 %
median: 3.281 %
mean: 2.603 %
low: -1.044 %
 Free Cash Growth 151.556 %
Free Cash Growth QoQ -373.863 %
Free Cash Growth YoY 90.706 %
Free Cash Growth IPRWA HIW: 151.556 %
high: 121.324 %
median: 68.135 %
mean: 64.309 %
low: -213.331 %
 Free Cash To Net Income 6.18
 Cash Flow Margin 45.722 %
 Cash Flow To Earnings 4.864
VALUE & RETURNS
 Economic Value Added 0.02
 Return On Assets (ROA) 0.311 %
Return On Assets QoQ -80.802 %
Return On Assets YoY -70.66 %
Return On Assets IPRWA high: 0.898 %
HIW: 0.311 %
median: 0.124 %
mean: 0.044 %
low: -2.609 %
 Return On Capital Employed (ROCE) 0.985 %
 Return On Equity (ROE) 0.008
Return On Equity QoQ -80.471 %
Return On Equity YoY -69.797 %
Return On Equity IPRWA high: 0.026
HIW: 0.008
median: 0.003
mean: 0.003
low: -0.101
 DuPont ROE 0.798 %
 Return On Invested Capital (ROIC) 0.791 %
Return On Invested Capital QoQ -44.801 %
Return On Invested Capital YoY -68.524 %
Return On Invested Capital IPRWA high: 1.551 %
median: 0.875 %
HIW: 0.791 %
mean: 0.783 %
low: -1.369 %

Six-Week Outlook

Technical momentum favors short-term downside while structural supports near $30.98 (super-trend lower) and $28.99 (200-day average) provide the primary floors to monitor. Momentum indicators—declining MACD, DI+ falling, DI- recovering, and a peak-and-reversal MRO—signal an elevated probability of mean reversion toward valuation-congruent levels. Low-to-moderate realized volatility and near-average volume suggest moves may unfold without extreme intraday swings; earnings and cash-flow content from the recently released quarter will likely determine direction once market participants digest details. Traders should track the $31.00–$31.95 band for confirmation of sustained directional momentum and watch interest-coverage and margin QoQ prints for catalysts that could shift the bias.

About Highwoods Properties, Inc.

Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) develops, acquires, leases, and manages office properties, focusing on the most sought-after business districts across key markets such as Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Nashville, Orlando, Raleigh, Richmond, and Tampa. Headquartered in Raleigh, Highwoods operates as a fully-integrated real estate investment trust (REIT), emphasizing the creation of work environments that foster collaboration and innovation. By crafting spaces that cater to the needs of modern businesses, Highwoods aims to enhance productivity and value for its clients and stakeholders. The company’s portfolio includes a diverse range of office properties, strategically positioned to attract top-tier tenants. Highwoods’ commitment to sustainable and efficient property management underscores its dedication to long-term growth and community development. Through strategic investments and a customer-centric approach, Highwoods Properties, Inc. maintains a strong presence in the commercial real estate sector, continually adapting to the evolving demands of the marketplace.



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