Highwoods Properties reported first-quarter earnings late Tuesday that narrowly beat Wall Street estimates.

The Raleigh real estate investment trust reported funds from operations, a profitability measure for REITs, of 70 cents per share for the quarter, compared with the 61 cents per share the company reported in the first quarter of 2011.

That beat the consensus of Wall Street analysts by two cents.

Highwoods leased 990,000 square feet of second-generation office space in the quarter, a 19 percent increase from the same period in 2011.

The company’s portfolio was 90.2 percent occupied, up from 89.4 percent in the same period a year ago.

Net income for the quarter was $16.7 million, or 23 cents per diluted share, compared to $10.1 million, or 14 cents per diluted share during the first quarter of 2011.

Highwoods, the Triangle’s largest office landlord, owns 5.1 million square feet of space in the region. Its entire portfolio includes 34.5 million square feet of office, industrial and retail.

Highwoods shares closed up 16 cents at $34.89 on Tuesday. The stock is up 18 percent this year.

Highwoods Properties has bought a 178,000-square-foot office building in Cary for $26 million, according to Wake County property records.

Highwoods was part of a joint venture that bought the 11000 Weston Parkway building in 1999 for $23.2 million.

The Raleigh-based real estate investment trust had a 22.8 percent ownership stake in the joint venture, said Tabitha Zane, Highwoods' vice president of investor relations, and now owns the building outright.

Last week, Highwoods announced that it had sold an 80,445-square-foot building in Pinellas County, Florida for $9.5 million.

Both deals reflect Highwood's strategy, in place since 2005, of pruning its portfolio of older assets and replacing them with higher-quality and better located buildings.

The 11000 Weston Parkway was built in 1998. It's 100 percent leased, Zane said.

Highwoods will report first quarter financial results after the market closes on Tuesday.

The company's shares, which closed at $34.61 on Friday, are up 16 percent this year.

Highwoods Properties announced Monday that it has sold a vacant, 96-unit apartment building in Kansas City for $11 million.

The property is in the city's Country Club Plaza.

It is part of a site where Highwoods once hoped to build a $58 million headquarters for the law firm Poisinelli Shughart.

That project, which would have required tearing down the apartment building, was scrapped in April 2011 after it ran into unexpected opposition from city officials and residents.

Highwoods will use the proceeds from the apartment sale to pay down its unsecured revolving credit line.

Highwoods Properties reported fourth quarter earnings late today that narrowly beat Wall Street estimates as the company ended the year with 90 percent of its portfolio occupied.

The Raleigh-based real estate investment trust reported funds from operations, a profitability measure for REITs, of 70 cents per share for the quarter, compared with the 62 cents per share the company reported in the fourth quarter of 2010.

That beat the consensus of Wall Street analysts by a penny.

Funds from operations for the year was $2.58 per share, up 4.9 percent from 2010.

Highwoods leased 4.3 million square feet of office space last year, a 19 percent increase from 2010. The average term of the leases signed was 5.6 years.

Raleigh-based Highwoods Properties announced today that Lockton, an insurance brokerage firm, has renewed its lease for 171,000 square feet in a Highwoods building in Kansas City.

Lockton has also taken an addition 10,000 square feet in the Valencia Place Office Tower. Lockton's lease now runs through February 2030.

Highwoods, which reports fourth quarter earnings next week, had a $58 million build-to-suit project in Kansas City terminated last year after it ran into opposition.
 

Analysts with RBC Capital Markets have upgraded Raleigh-based Highwoods Properties shares to outperform from perform.

RBC analysts said they expect Highwoods to benefit from acquisitions and built-to-suit development opportunities over the coming year.

"We expect the company could benefit from during 2012 from a modest softening in asset pricing as its still solid balance sheet provides sufficient flexibility for opportunistic pursuits as displayed in Pittsburgh during 2011," RBC said in its research note.

In September, Highwoods spent $300 million to buy seven buildings in Atlanta and Pittsburgh.

The buildings included about 2 million square feet of space. The Pittsburgh properties represent the first new market that Highwoods, one of the largest office landlords in the Southeast, has entered in more than a decade.
 

Raleigh-based Highwoods Properties announced today that it has been selected to build a new $48.4 million headquarters in Nashville for LifePoint Hospitals.

The project calls for a seven-story, 203,000-square-foot building and structured parking in the Brentwood area of Nashville.

LifePoint will occupy the entire building.

Highwoods will also build 25,000 square feet of retail adjacent to the building that will be available for lease.
 

Highwoods Properties handily beat Wall Street estimates for the third quarter as the company leased 1.7 million square feet of space.

The Raleigh real-estate investment trust's 32.7-million-square-foot portfolio was 89.9 percent occupied at the end of September.

Occupancy was down compared to the prior quarter as a result of Highwoods making one of its boldest acquisitions in recent memory during the third quarter.

The company spent $300 million acquiring seven buildings in Atlanta and Pittsburgh in September.

The buildings included about 2 million square feet of space that was 83 percent leased at the time of purchase.

Highwoods reported funds from operations, a profitability measure for REITs, of 65 cents per share for the quarter, compared to the 57 cents per share the company reported in the third quarter of 2010.

That beat the consensus of Wall Street by 5 cents.
 

Raleigh-based Highwoods Properties announced today that is has sold an office building and an adjacent piece of land in Winston-Salem for $15 million.

The 135,000 building is located at 150 South Stratford Road. The transaction valued the building, which is 80 percent leased, at $13.7 million and a three-acre piece of land at $1.3 million.

Highwoods also sold its 10 percent equity stake in a building in Charlotte that it developed in a joint venture with USAA Real Estate. USAA paid $6.5 million for the remaining interest.

The 171,000-square-foot building was constructed for the FBI.

Highwoods Properties, which has been seeking ways to take advantage of its strong balance sheet, announced today that it has invested $300 million to acquire properties in Pittsburgh and Atlanta.

The Pittsburgh acquisition is particularly noteworthy for the Raleigh real estate investment trust, as it represents the first new market Highwoods has entered since 1998, when it bought property in Kansas City.

Highwoods is among the largest office landlords in the Southeast.

Highwoods paid $214.1 million for PPG Place in Pittsburgh, a six building complex that includes 1.54 million square feet of office space.

That price includes $17.1 million in building improvements and $8.1 million in tenant improvements promised under existing leases.

PPG Place is 81.2 percent leased.

In Atlanta, Highwoods bought Riverwood 100, a 24-story building with half a million square feet of office space, for $86.3 million.

That price includes $5.6 million in planned building improvements and $2.4 million in tenant improvements.

Riverwood 100 is 87 percent leased.