Highwoods Properties, Inc.’s HIW first-quarter 2021 funds from operations (FFO) per share of 91 cents surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 87 cents. Moreover, rental and other revenues of $183.8 million outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $180.6 million.Decent leasing activity as well as rent and same-property cash net operating income (NOI) growth aided results.However, FFO per share declined 2.2% from 91 cents recorded in the year-ago period. Rental and other revenues in the first quarter also decreased 4.7% year over year.Quarter in DetailHighwoods leased 553,000 square feet of second-generation office space in the first quarter, including 247,000 square feet of new leases. In-place cash rent was up 5.3% per square foot on a year-over-year basis.At the end of the reported quarter, occupancy was 89.6%.Excluding the negative impacts of the temporary rent deferral agreements, same-property cash NOI increased 4.8% year over year.As of Mar 31, 2021, Highwoods had $49.3 million of cash and cash equivalents compared with $109.3 million reported as of Dec 31, 2020. The company exited the reported quarter with the full availability of funds under its new credit facility.In the first quarter, it sold a 100,000-sq-ft non-core office building in Atlanta for $30.7 million.GuidanceHighwoods expects 2021 FFO per share of $3.54-$3.66 compared with $3.50-$3.66 mentioned earlier. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the same is pegged at $3.60.Same-property cash NOI for 2021 is projected at 3.5-5.25%, up from 3-5% mentioned earlier, whereas year-end occupancy is estimated to be 88.5-91.5%. Dispositions in 2021 are expected to be $250-$300 million, while acquisitions are likely to be $680-$769 million.Highwoods currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Highwoods Properties, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Highwoods Properties, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Highwoods Properties, Inc. QuoteWe now look forward to the earnings releases of other REITs like Digital Realty Trust, Inc. DLR,Cousins Properties CUZ and CubeSmart CUBE. All three companies are slated to report first-quarter earnings on Apr 29.Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represent funds from operations (FFO) — a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.Zacks Names “Single Best Pick to Double”From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.You know this company from its past glory days, but few would expect that it’s poised for a monster turnaround. Fresh from a successful repositioning and flush with A-list celeb endorsements, it could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in a little more than 9 months and Nvidia which boomed +175.9% in one year.Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Highwoods Properties, Inc. (HIW): Free Stock Analysis Report Cousins Properties Incorporated (CUZ): Free Stock Analysis Report Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (DLR): Free Stock Analysis Report CubeSmart (CUBE): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research