Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) Given New $24.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised the target price for Highwoods Properties from $23.00 to $24.00, indicating a potential downside of 19.54% based on the stock's previous close.
• Highwoods Properties has a consensus rating of "Hold" among analysts, with a target price averaging $31.25, while several firms have assigned varied ratings ranging from "Buy" to "Sell."
• Recent quarterly earnings reported an EPS of $0.89, exceeding expectations, but revenues were down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $23.00 to $24.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "underweight" rating on the real estate investment trust's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective indicates a potential downside of 19.54% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on HIW. New Street Research set a $30.00 price target on Highwoods Properties in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Mizuho raised their target price on Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Highwoods Properties in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Highwoods Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.25.

Highwoods Properties Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:HIW traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $29.83. The company had a trading volume of 153,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 999,926. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a 50-day moving average of $30.96 and a 200 day moving average of $30.11. The company has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.13 and a beta of 1.24. Highwoods Properties has a 1 year low of $24.18 and a 1 year high of $36.78.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $200.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $203.22 million. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 5.57% and a net margin of 16.15%.The company's revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. Highwoods Properties has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.370-3.450 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Highwoods Properties will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Highwoods Properties

In related news, Director David John Hartzell sold 4,300 shares of Highwoods Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.10, for a total value of $138,030.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 27,489 shares in the company, valued at $882,396.90. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HIW. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties in the first quarter worth $28,000. Avalon Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties in the first quarter worth $35,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties in the third quarter worth $49,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 292.5% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,680 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management increased its stake in Highwoods Properties by 67.3% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,803 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 725 shares during the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is 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.

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