Head to Head Comparison: Howard Hughes (NYSE:HHH) and Agree Realty (NYSE:ADC)

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Howard Hughes and Agree Realty, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Howard Hughes	0	0	2	0	3.00
Agree Realty	0	3	6	0	2.67

Howard Hughes currently has a consensus target price of $97.00, indicating a potential upside of 46.55%. Agree Realty has a consensus target price of $65.61, indicating a potential upside of 11.64%. Given Howard Hughes’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Howard Hughes is more favorable than Agree Realty.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Howard Hughes	-53.88%	-0.62%	-0.21%
Agree Realty	30.91%	3.48%	2.27%

Volatility & Risk

Howard Hughes has a beta of 1.49, meaning that its share price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Agree Realty has a beta of 0.52, meaning that its share price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Howard Hughes and Agree Realty’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Howard Hughes	$1.02 billion	3.25	-$550.95 million	($11.13)	-5.95
Agree Realty	$537.49 million	11.00	$169.96 million	$1.70	34.57

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

93.8% of Howard Hughes shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.8% of Agree Realty shares are owned by institutional investors. 33.0% of Howard Hughes shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Agree Realty shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Agree Realty beats Howard Hughes on 9 of the 14 factors compared between 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 Agree Realty

Agree Realty Corporation is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that is RETHINKING RETAIL through the acquisition and development of properties net leased to industry-leading, omni-channel retail tenants. As of December 31, 2023, the Company owned and operated a portfolio of 2,135 properties, located in 49 states and containing approximately 44.2 million square feet of gross leasable area. The Company's common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "ADC".