Investors never know what to expect for Highwoods Properties (NYSE: HIW), as it has wavered between topping and missing analysts estimates during the past fiscal year. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Tuesday, February 7. Highwoods Properties is a fully-integrated, self-administered and self-managed equity real estate investment trust that operates in the southeastern and midwestern United States.

What analysts say:

  • Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts think investors should stand pat on Highwoods Properties with seven of 11 analysts rating it hold. Analysts don't like Highwoods Properties as much as competitor Kilroy Realty overall. Seven out of 11 analysts rate Kilroy Realty a buy compared to four of 11 for Highwoods Properties. Analysts still rate the stock a Hold, but they are a bit more wary about it compared to three months ago.
  • Revenue Forecasts: On average, analysts predict $126.9 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 7.7% from the year-ago quarter.
  • Wall Street Earnings Expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $0.70 per share. Estimates range from $0.64 to $0.77.

What our community says:
CAPS All Stars are split on HIW, with 45.5% rating it an "outperform" and 54.5% giving it an "underperform" rating. Fools are skeptical of Highwoods Properties, though the message boards have been quiet lately with only 27 posts in the past 30 days. Highwoods Properties' bearish CAPS rating of one out of five stars falls short of the Fool community sentiment.

Management:
Highwoods Properties' income has fallen year-over-year by an average of more than fourfold over the past five quarters.

Now let's look at how efficient management is at running the business. Margins are a representation of how efficiently a company captures portions of sales dollars. The company's net margins, which reflect what percentage of revenue becomes profit, have slipped downward year-over-year in the last two quarters. Here is how Highwoods Properties has been doing for the last four quarters:

Quarter

Q3

Q2

Q1

Q4

Net Margin

6%

11.3%

9.9%

9.2%

For all our Highwoods Properties-specific analysis, including earnings and beyond, add Highwoods Properties to My Watchlist.

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Earnings estimates provided by Zacks.