Comparing CareTrust REIT (NASDAQ:CTRE) and Howard Hughes (NYSE:HHH)

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

Valuation and Earnings

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

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

CareTrust REIT has higher earnings, but lower revenue 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.

Analyst Recommendations

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

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

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

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

Risk & Volatility

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

Profitability

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

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

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.

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.