Howard Hughes (NYSE:HHH) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Howard Hughes shares jumped 4.8%, opening at $73.16 versus a prior close of $70.19 and later trading near $73.67.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an $81 average price target; ratings include one Strong Buy, one Buy and two Holds, though Piper Sandler lowered its target to $83.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $2.68, far exceeding the $0.49 consensus estimate, while revenue surged 330.2% year over year to $1.12 billion. Institutional investors own 93.83% of shares, and insiders own 47.70%.

Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HHH - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday. The stock had previously closed at $70.19, but opened at $73.16. Howard Hughes shares last traded at $73.6650, with a volume of 213,933 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on HHH shares. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Howard Hughes from $100.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Howard Hughes from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research raised shares of Howard Hughes from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Howard Hughes from a "sell (d)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Howard Hughes currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.00.

Howard Hughes Trading Up 4.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 2.31. The company has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.90 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $67.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.77.

Howard Hughes (NYSE:HHH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $2.19. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter. Howard Hughes had a net margin of 12.31% and a return on equity of 7.51%. The company's revenue was up 330.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.22) EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Andrew D. Davis bought 1,000 shares of Howard Hughes stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $64.49 per share, for a total transaction of $64,490.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer owned 32,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,097,859.70. This represents a 3.17% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Tighe sold 13,495 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.25, for a total value of $907,538.75. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 47.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Howard Hughes

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Howard Hughes by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,822,522 shares of the company's stock valued at $178,549,000 after buying an additional 208,617 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Howard Hughes during the 2nd quarter worth about $115,766,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Howard Hughes during the 2nd quarter valued at about $71,691,000. Flat Footed LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Howard Hughes during the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,353,683. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Howard Hughes in the second quarter valued at about $21,031,000. 93.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Howard Hughes Company Profile

Howard Hughes Holdings Inc NYSE: HHH is a real estate development and operating company focused primarily on master planned communities, residential and commercial development, and the management of related real estate assets. The company develops large-scale communities that may include housing, retail, offices, schools, parks and other amenities, while generating revenue through land sales, development activities and property operations.

The company's master planned community portfolio has included Summerlin in the Las Vegas area; Bridgeland, The Woodlands and The Woodlands Hills in the greater Houston area; and other communities and real estate assets in selected U.S.

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