Huntington Begins Coverage on Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW)

Key Points

• Huntington initiated coverage of Highwoods Properties with a “market perform” rating and a $31 price target, implying approximately 5.9% upside.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly neutral: eight analysts rate the stock “Hold,” with a consensus price target of $31.78.
• Highwoods reported quarterly revenue of $216.4 million, exceeding expectations, while EPS of $0.85 narrowly missed estimates; institutional investors own 96.31% of the stock.

Equities researchers at Huntington started coverage on shares of Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage set a "market perform" rating and a $31.00 price target on the real estate investment trust's stock. Huntington's price target points to a potential upside of 5.94% from the stock's current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on HIW. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $23.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Mizuho set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Highwoods Properties presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.78.

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

HIW traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $29.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,262,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,453,040. The stock has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.25 and a beta of 1.06. The business's 50-day moving average price is $30.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. Highwoods Properties has a 12 month low of $20.45 and a 12 month high of $35.44.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.01). Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 7.06% and a net margin of 20.74%.The business had revenue of $216.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $212.15 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Highwoods Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.460-3.700 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Highwoods Properties will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HIW. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Highwoods Properties in the second quarter valued at about $633,717,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Highwoods Properties in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,595,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,285,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 133.8% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 1,808,104 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $38,712,000 after buying an additional 1,034,694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,432,000. Institutional investors own 96.31% of the company's stock.

About Highwoods Properties

Highwoods Properties, Inc NYSE: HIW is a real estate investment trust that owns, develops, leases and manages primarily office properties. The company focuses on high-quality buildings in prominent business districts and serves corporate, professional-services and other commercial tenants.

Highwoods' portfolio is concentrated in major Sun Belt and Southeast markets, including Atlanta, Charlotte, Orlando, Raleigh, Richmond, Nashville and Tampa. In addition to leasing office space, the company provides property management and related services and pursues select development and redevelopment opportunities to support its portfolio.

Founded in 1978, Highwoods Properties became a publicly traded company in 1994.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.