Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) Stock

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) had its price objective raised by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $32.00 to $35.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 5.20% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on HIW. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Highwoods Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $31.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.33.

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HIW opened at $33.27 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of 24.83 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Highwoods Properties has a 1-year low of $17.17 and a 1-year high of $36.78. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $33.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.52.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last announced 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 company had revenue of $204.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.96 million. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 6.05% and a net margin of 17.40%. Highwoods Properties’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Highwoods Properties will post 3.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 45.5% in the 1st quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 141.3% in 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 during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 269.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,221 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Highwoods Properties in the 1st quarter valued at about $107,000. 96.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.