Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $34.01 and last traded at $33.90, with a volume of 61458 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.61.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HIW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $22.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Highwoods Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.86.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a PE ratio of 29.23 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $32.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.51.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.31). Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 18.30% and a return on equity of 6.33%. The company had revenue of $204.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $205.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 2.8% in the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 13,653 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 3.6% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 10,766 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $283,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 4.9% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 9,274 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,206 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the period. Finally, Presima Securities ULC boosted its position in Highwoods Properties by 1.0% in the third quarter. Presima Securities ULC now owns 52,536 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,760,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

Highwoods Properties Company Profile

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.