CareTrust REIT (NASDAQ:CTRE) versus Howard Hughes (NYSE:HHH) Head to Head Survey

Howard Hughes (NYSE:HHH) and CareTrust REIT (NASDAQ:CTRE) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Howard Hughes and CareTrust REIT, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Howard Hughes	0	0	2	0	3.00
CareTrust REIT	1	2	3	0	2.33

Howard Hughes presently has a consensus target price of $82.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.28%. CareTrust REIT has a consensus target price of $30.83, indicating a potential upside of 23.06%. Given CareTrust REIT’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe CareTrust REIT is more favorable than Howard Hughes.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

93.8% of Howard Hughes shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.8% of CareTrust REIT shares are owned by institutional investors. 33.0% of Howard Hughes shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of CareTrust REIT shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Howard Hughes has a beta of 1.48, suggesting that its stock price is 48% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CareTrust REIT has a beta of 1.09, suggesting that its stock price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Howard Hughes and CareTrust REIT’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Howard Hughes	6.57%	3.38%	1.03%
CareTrust REIT	42.22%	5.59%	4.39%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Howard Hughes and CareTrust REIT”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Howard Hughes	$1.20 billion	3.09	-$550.95 million	$1.51	48.80
CareTrust REIT	$228.26 million	20.60	$125.08 million	$0.79	31.72

CareTrust REIT has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Howard Hughes. CareTrust REIT is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Howard Hughes, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

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. The Seaport segment is involved in the landlord operations, managed businesses, and events and sponsorships services of its restaurant, retail, and entertain properties in Pier 17, New York City; Historic Area/Uplands; and Tin Building, as well as in 250 Water Street and in the Jean-Georges restaurants. The Strategic Development segment develops and redevelops residential condominiums and commercial properties. It serves homebuilders. Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.

About CareTrust REIT

CareTrust REIT, Inc.’s (CareTrust REIT or the Company) primary business consists of acquiring, financing, developing and owning real property to be leased to third-party tenants in the healthcare sector. As of March 31, 2024, the Company owned directly or through a joint venture and leased to independent operators, 228 skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), multi-service campuses, assisted living facilities (ALFs) and independent living facilities (ILFs) consisting of 24,189 operational beds and units located in 29 states with the highest concentration of properties by rental income located in California and Texas. As of March 31, 2024, the Company also had other real estate related investments consisting of one preferred equity investment, nine real estate secured loans receivable and four mezzanine loans receivable with a carrying value of $233.3 million.