Highwoods Properties

HIW

Market cap $2.96B

Highwoods Properties earns a 'Hold' rating due to mixed growth signals, despite beating Q1 estimates and offering a 7%+ dividend yield. HIW's Sunbelt focus, recent investments, and high occupancy outlook support potential upside, but unsteady revenue and declining EBITDA margins temper enthusiasm. Dividend coverage is strong with a 1.68x AFFO payout, yet five-year dividend growth remains flat, limiting its appeal beyond yield-focused investors.

REITs present attractive value, thanks in part to a shortage of new supply and relative immunity to AI disruption, and are outperforming the S&P 500 YTD. This article identifies 25 high-yield REITs with current yields at least 75 basis points above the "no-risk" rate on Treasuries. The list is then screened for dividend safety, FFO growth, and balance sheet quality to arrive at a final list of 5 companies, each offering safe yields above 5.25%.

Surging oil prices and hotter inflation reports reignited rate-hike concerns, sending Treasury yields to one-year highs as the Iran conflict remained stalemated despite the highly anticipated Trump-Xi summit.

Not Every REIT Joined The Rally: Part 2 focuses on laggards and in-line performers - sectors where recovery timelines slipped, results underwhelmed, or elevated rates exposed lingering balance sheet issues. Weakness centered on Farmland, Commercial Mortgage, Lab Space, and Self-Storage REITs, where delayed troughs, credit provisions, book-value pressure, weak rents, and refinancing constraints persisted. Mortgage Stress Hasn't Fully Cleared: Commercial mortgage REITs still faced multifamily bridge-loan and office credit stress, while residential mortgage REITs saw book values pressured by rate volatility and uneven dividend-coverage.

REIT earnings results were considerably better than consensus expectations, with 58 REITs - or 59% - raising full-year FFO guidance, well above the typical Q1 raise rate of 40-45%. REITs have extended their year-to-date outperformance despite the recent jump in interest rates, as better earnings results and improving property-level trends helped offset renewed macro pressure. Upside standouts included Hotel, Senior Housing, Data Center, Billboard, Cold Storage, Net Lease, and Retail REITs. Residential REITs saw improving rent growth trends as supply growth finally eases.

RALEIGH, N.C., May 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) has sold Bridgestone Tower, a 513,000 square foot office tower in CBD Nashville, for $255 million. This property is 100% leased and is projected to generate approximately $17 million of annual cash and GAAP net operating income in 2026.

RALEIGH, N.C., May 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) has published its 2025 Corporate Resiliency Report, which highlights the Company's ongoing commitment to owning and operating a resilient, high-quality office portfolio that thrives in all economic cycles.

The Invesco KBW Premium Yield Equity REIT ETF (NASDAQ:KBWY) concentrates in roughly 30 small and mid-cap REITs that pass a high-yield screen.

U.S. equity markets advanced for a fifth straight week - their longest winning streak since 2024 - as strong earnings, resilient data, and hopes for lasting Iran peace fueled optimism. Investors looked through another oil-price surge and inflationary pressure, focusing instead on corporate resilience and economic strength despite a complex macro backdrop shaped by geopolitical and policy uncertainty. The Fed held rates steady in an unusually fractured 8-4 vote, while Powell's plan to remain on the Board broke precedent and raised politically charged succession questions.

Highwoods Properties, Inc. (HIW) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript