Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Howard Hughes Put Options (NYSE:HHH)

Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HHH) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 3,208 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 494% compared to the average volume of 540 put options.

Howard Hughes Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE HHH traded up $0.92 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $74.87. The company had a trading volume of 1,128,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 483,947. Howard Hughes has a 52-week low of $60.09 and a 52-week high of $91.07. The stock has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.16 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.71.

Howard Hughes (NYSE:HHH) last issued 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 company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter. Howard Hughes had a return on equity of 7.51% and a net margin of 12.31%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 330.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.22) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Howard Hughes will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Howard Hughes from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Howard Hughes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Howard Hughes has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.00.

Insider Activity at Howard Hughes

In other Howard Hughes news, COO Andrew D. Davis purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 32,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,097,859.70. The trade was a 3.17% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Tighe sold 13,495 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.25, for a total value of $907,538.75. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 47.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Howard Hughes

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Howard Hughes during the 2nd quarter worth $115,766,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in Howard Hughes in the second quarter valued at about $71,691,000. Flat Footed LLC acquired a new stake in Howard Hughes in the second quarter valued at about $44,353,683. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Howard Hughes in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,957,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Howard Hughes during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $21,031,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.83% of the company’s stock.

Howard Hughes Company Profile

Howard Hughes Holdings Inc is a real estate development and management company that creates and operates large-scale master planned communities, mixed-use properties and strategic real estate developments. Its activities include land development, homebuilder lot sales, commercial and multifamily development, retail operations and the management of community amenities and infrastructure.

The company’s master planned communities include Summerlin in the Las Vegas area, The Woodlands and Bridgeland in the Houston area, The Woodlands Hills in Texas, Teravalis in the Phoenix area and Ward Village in Honolulu.