Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HHH) Short Interest Up 15.2% in February

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 15.2% in February to 2,242,373 shares, equal to about 7.2% of the shares shorted and a short-interest ratio of roughly 4.3 days.
• Howard Hughes beat Q4 EPS expectations ($1.57 vs. $0.31) but reported revenue down 36.5% year-over-year, with analysts projecting about 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• Insiders have been buying stock recently — General Counsel Joseph Valane bought 1,260 shares at $64.45 and Director R. Scot Sellers bought 5,000 shares — with insiders reported to own about 48% of the company.

Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HHH - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 2,242,373 shares, a growth of 15.2% from the February 12th total of 1,947,019 shares. Currently, 7.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 521,156 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days. Based on an average daily volume of 521,156 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days. Currently, 7.2% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Howard Hughes Stock Performance

NYSE:HHH traded up $1.26 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $64.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 228,011 shares, compared to its average volume of 448,404. The firm has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.69 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $77.70 and a 200-day moving average of $80.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.19. Howard Hughes has a 12 month low of $61.40 and a 12 month high of $91.07.

Howard Hughes (NYSE:HHH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $1.26. The company had revenue of $624.45 million for the quarter. Howard Hughes had a net margin of 8.40% and a return on equity of 5.54%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 36.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.25 EPS. Research analysts expect that Howard Hughes will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Howard Hughes

In other news, General Counsel Joseph Valane bought 1,260 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $64.45 per share, with a total value of $81,207.00. Following the acquisition, the general counsel directly owned 29,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,882,520.05. This trade represents a 4.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director R Scot Sellers bought 5,000 shares of Howard Hughes stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $77.94 per share, for a total transaction of $389,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 67,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,262,274.98. The trade was a 8.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 48.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Howard Hughes

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HHH. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Howard Hughes by 41.5% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 423 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Howard Hughes by 1.4% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 9,666 shares of the company's stock valued at $794,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Howard Hughes by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 27,193 shares of the company's stock worth $2,169,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Howard Hughes by 28.9% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 665 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Howard Hughes by 37.2% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 572 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.83% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Howard Hughes in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.33.

About Howard Hughes

Howard Hughes Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a real estate development company in the United States. It operates in four segments: Operating Assets; Master Planned Communities (MPCs); Seaport; and Strategic Developments. The Operating Assets segment consists of developed or acquired retail, office, and multi-family properties along with other retail investments. Its MPCs segment develops, sells, and leases residential and commercial land designated for long-term community development projects in and around Las Vegas, Nevada; Houston, Texas; and Phoenix, Arizona.

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