Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HHH) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HHH - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,800,000 shares, an increase of 5.9% from the March 15th total of 1,700,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 270,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.6 days. Currently, 3.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HHH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Howard Hughes from $90.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. TheStreet raised Howard Hughes from a "d+" rating to a "c-" rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd.

Howard Hughes Stock Down 3.0 %

NYSE HHH traded down $1.84 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $59.73. 628,817 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 292,595. Howard Hughes has a fifty-two week low of $59.49 and a fifty-two week high of $86.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of -5.37 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $72.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.03.

Howard Hughes (NYSE:HHH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.25. Howard Hughes had a negative return on equity of 0.62% and a negative net margin of 53.88%. The firm had revenue of $335.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $318.32 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Howard Hughes will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Heath Melton sold 1,926 shares of Howard Hughes stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.95, for a total value of $140,501.70. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $676,538.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 33.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Howard Hughes

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HHH. Pershing Square Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Howard Hughes by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Pershing Square Capital Management L.P. now owns 18,852,064 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,612,794,000 after buying an additional 2,045,156 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Howard Hughes during the 3rd quarter valued at about $359,181,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. acquired a new stake in Howard Hughes in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $188,891,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Howard Hughes by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,352,501 shares of the company's stock worth $201,259,000 after purchasing an additional 193,957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Howard Hughes in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $156,887,000. 93.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.