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

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

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

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

Shares of Highwoods Properties stock opened at $29.23 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81 and a beta of 1.24. Highwoods Properties has a 1-year low of $21.37 and a 1-year high of $36.78.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Highwoods Properties during the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,052 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 269.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,221 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 2,350 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Highwoods Properties by 35.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,114 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.