Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

HIW has been the subject of a number of other reports. Truist Financial cut their target price on Highwoods Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.50.

Highwoods Properties Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of HIW stock opened at $27.14 on Thursday. Highwoods Properties has a 12-month low of $23.52 and a 12-month high of $36.78. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 28.57 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $28.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.85. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 4.33% and a net margin of 12.37%. As a group, analysts predict that Highwoods Properties will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 1.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,289,806 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $244,281,000 after buying an additional 124,646 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Highwoods Properties by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,265,824 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $99,869,000 after purchasing an additional 556,828 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 40.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,130,452 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $107,155,000 after purchasing an additional 908,401 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,133,242 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $65,235,000 after purchasing an additional 71,670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,902,036 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $63,754,000 after buying an additional 12,958 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.