Jefferies Financial Group Cuts Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) Price Target to $31.00

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) had its price objective lowered by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group from $35.00 to $31.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 2.24% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also commented on HIW. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Highwoods Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $31.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Highwoods Properties currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.17.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

Shares of Highwoods Properties stock traded down $0.26 on Thursday, reaching $30.32. 71,482 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 849,756. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 22.63 and a beta of 1.24. Highwoods Properties has a 1-year low of $21.37 and a 1-year high of $36.78. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $31.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.14. 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 (NYSE:HIW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.74). Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 6.05% and a net margin of 17.40%. The business had revenue of $204.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.96 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Highwoods Properties will post 3.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Highwoods Properties

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Highwoods Properties in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 269.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,221 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 2,350 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 55.8% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 35.1% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,114 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 19.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,026 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. 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.