Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) Cut to "Sell" at StockNews.com

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on HIW. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Highwoods Properties in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.50.

Highwoods Properties Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:HIW traded down $0.12 during trading on Thursday, reaching $26.04. The stock had a trading volume of 404,879 shares, compared to its average volume of 911,504. Highwoods Properties has a 52 week low of $23.52 and a 52 week high of $36.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm's fifty day moving average is $28.92 and its 200 day moving average is $30.92. The stock has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.36 and a beta of 1.15.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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, equities analysts forecast that Highwoods Properties will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Highwoods Properties

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,289,806 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $244,281,000 after purchasing an additional 124,646 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 20.6% during 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 period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Highwoods Properties by 40.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,130,452 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $107,155,000 after buying an additional 908,401 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,133,242 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $65,235,000 after buying an additional 71,670 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 0.7% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.31% of the company's stock.

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.