Howard Hughes (NYSE:HHH) Stock Rating Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Howard Hughes (NYSE:HHH) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Zacks reports.

HHH has been the subject of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Howard Hughes from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Howard Hughes from $100.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. One equities research 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, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.00.

Howard Hughes Trading Down 5.8%

Shares of NYSE HHH opened at $68.30 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 1.14. Howard Hughes has a 12-month low of $60.09 and a 12-month high of $91.07. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.47.

Howard Hughes (NYSE:HHH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $2.19. Howard Hughes had a net margin of 12.31% and a return on equity of 7.51%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.22) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 330.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Howard Hughes will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Andrew D. Davis acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $64.49 per share, with a total value of $64,490.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mary Tighe sold 13,495 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were 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. Corporate insiders own 47.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 208,617 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Howard Hughes during the 2nd quarter worth $115,766,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Howard Hughes during the 2nd quarter worth $71,691,000. Flat Footed LLC acquired a new position in shares of Howard Hughes during the 2nd quarter worth $44,353,683. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Howard Hughes during the 2nd quarter worth $21,031,000. 93.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Howard Hughes Company Profile

Howard Hughes Holdings Inc (NYSE: HHH) is a real estate development and management company focused primarily on master planned communities and mixed-use properties. The company develops residential neighborhoods and supporting infrastructure while also owning and operating commercial, retail, office, multifamily, hospitality and entertainment assets.

Its portfolio includes master planned communities such as The Woodlands, Bridgeland and The Woodlands Hills in the Houston area; Summerlin in the Las Vegas region; Ward Village in Honolulu; and Teravalis in the Phoenix metropolitan area.