Robert W. Baird Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) Stock

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) had its price target increased by Robert W. Baird from $30.00 to $32.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price indicates a potential downside of 1.96% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Highwoods Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the company from $31.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.83.

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

HIW opened at $32.64 on Friday. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.38. Highwoods Properties has a one year low of $17.17 and a one year high of $36.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.36 and a beta of 1.26.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.96 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.93 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Highwoods Properties will post 3.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 45.5% during the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 141.3% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,073 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $107,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Highwoods Properties by 269.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,221 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 440 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

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.