13D Filing: Highland Capital Management and Nexpoint Residential Trust Inc. (NXRT)

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

SCHEDULE 13D

(Rule 13d-101)

INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN STATEMENTS FILED PURSUANT

TO § 240.13d-1(a) AND AMENDMENTS THERETO FILED

PURSUANT TO § 240.13d-2(a)

(Amendment No. 9)

NEXPOINT
RESIDENTIAL TRUST, INC.

(Name of Issuer)

Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share

(Title of Class of Securities)

65341D102

(CUSIP Number)

Thomas Surgent, Chief Compliance Officer

Highland Capital Management, L.P.

300 Crescent Court, Suite 700

Dallas, TX 75201

(Name,
Address and Telephone Number of Person Authorized to Receive Notices and Communications)

March 19, 2018

(Date of Event Which Requires Filing of this Statement)

If the filing
person has previously filed a statement on Schedule 13G to report the acquisition that is the subject of this Schedule 13D, and is filing this schedule because of §§ 240.13d-1(e), 240.13d-1(f) or 240.13d-1(g), check the following
box.  ☐

SCHEDULE 13D/A

This Amendment No. 9 (this Amendment) is being filed on behalf of Highland Capital Management, L.P., a Delaware limited
partnership (Highland Capital), NexPoint Advisors, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (NexPoint Advisors), James D. Dondero and Nancy Marie Dondero (collectively, the Reporting Persons), and amends the Schedule
13D filed on March 26, 2015, as subsequently amended on April 14, 2015, as subsequently amended on April 23, 2015, as subsequently amended on April 24, 2015, as subsequently amended on September 2, 2015, as subsequently
amended on October 19, 2015, as subsequently amended on July 22, 2016, as subsequently amended on October 20, 2016 and as subsequently amended on April 17, 2017. This Amendment updates the stock ownership information for the
Schedule 13D. The Schedule 13D is supplementally amended as follows.

Item 3. Source and Amount of Funds.

The Reporting Persons received an aggregate of 2,470,129 shares of Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share (the Common Stock) in
connection with the consummation of the separation of the Issuer from NexPoint Credit Strategies Fund (the Spin-Off). As of March 19, 2018, the Reporting Persons had purchased additional
shares of Common Stock with working capital in open market purchases for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $31,751,455.81.

Item 5.
Interest in Securities of the Issuer.

(a) As of March 19, 2018, (i) Highland Capital may be deemed to beneficially own
2,392,678.03 shares of Common Stock, which represents approximately 11.47% of the outstanding Common Stock, (ii) NexPoint Advisors may be deemed to beneficially own 20,840 shares of Common Stock, which represents approximately 0.10% of the
outstanding Common Stock, (iii) James D. Dondero may be deemed to beneficially own 4,175,618.11 shares of Common Stock, which represents approximately 20.01% of the outstanding Common Stock, and (iv) Nancy Marie Dondero, in her capacity of
trustee of a trust, may deemed to beneficially own 1,627,511.88 shares of Common Stock, which represents approximately 7.84% of the outstanding Common Stock. James D. Dondero has the right to acquire beneficial ownership of the 1,627,511.88 shares
of Common Stock owned by the trust referred to in the preceding sentence.

(b)

(c) Annex A attached hereto lists all transactions in the Common Stock during the past 60
days by the Reporting Persons. Except as otherwise noted, the transactions in the Common Stock were effected in the open market.

(d) No
person other than the Reporting Persons is known to have the right to receive, or the power to direct the receipt of dividends from, or proceeds from the sale of, the Common Stock.

(e) Not applicable.

Item 6. Contracts,
Arrangements, Understandings or Relationships with Respect to Securities of the Issuer.

On October 14, 2014, March 10, 2015
and March 12, 2015, 2,015,000 shares of NHF, 800,000 shares of NHF and 430,000 shares of NHF, respectively, all beneficially owned by Mr. Dondero, were loaned to an affiliate, which subsequently pledged all such shares to
Jeffries & Company, Inc. (Jeffries) as collateral for margin credit extended by Jeffries to such affiliate. The shares of Common Stock received in the Spin-Off as a result of the ownership
of these shares of NHF are also pledged as collateral. As reported on a Form 4 filed by the Reporting Persons on December 20, 2017, these share loans and related pledges of shares have been terminated in connection with repayment of the loans.

SIGNATURE

After reasonable inquiry and to the best of my knowledge and belief, each of the undersigned certifies that the information set forth in this
statement is true, complete and correct.

Dated: March 27, 2018

ANNEX A

TRANSACTIONS

The following table sets
forth all transactions with respect to the Common Stock effected in the last sixty (60) days by the Reporting Persons or on behalf of the Reporting Persons in respect of the shares of Common Stock, inclusive of any transactions effected through
4:00 p.m., New York City time, on March 19, 2018.