Mizuho Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) Stock

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) had its price target increased by investment analysts at Mizuho from $24.00 to $29.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Mizuho’s price target suggests a potential downside of 0.79% from the company’s current price.

HIW has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Highwoods Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $35.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Highwoods Properties has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.86.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

HIW stock opened at $29.23 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $31.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.28. Highwoods Properties has a fifty-two week low of $21.37 and a fifty-two week high of $36.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 21.81 and a beta of 1.24.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.74). The firm had revenue of $204.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.96 million. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 6.05% and a net margin of 17.40%. The company’s revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. Analysts forecast that Highwoods Properties will post 3.62 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 131.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,708,996 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $90,778,000 after buying an additional 1,536,067 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Highwoods Properties by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,130,452 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $107,155,000 after acquiring an additional 908,401 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 472.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 885,541 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,674,000 after purchasing an additional 730,859 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 537.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 485,368 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $16,264,000 after purchasing an additional 409,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 109.5% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 552,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,501,000 after purchasing an additional 288,500 shares during the period. 96.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.