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

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) had its target price increased by Mizuho from $24.00 to $29.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

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

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

NYSE HIW 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.27. Highwoods Properties has a 12 month low of $21.37 and a 12 month high of $36.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.81 and a beta of 1.24.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last announced 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 analysts’ expectations of $204.96 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Highwoods Properties will post 3.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.84%. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 149.25%.

Institutional Trading of Highwoods Properties

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in Highwoods Properties by 184.7% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 27,048 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $906,000 after buying an additional 17,548 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D bought a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties in the third quarter worth $2,085,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 7.4% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 848,653 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $22,294,000 after purchasing an additional 58,634 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 436.3% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 215,724 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,229,000 after purchasing an additional 175,499 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 65.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,562 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 2,587 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.