Howard Hughes (NYSE:HHH) vs. Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) Critical Analysis

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

Profitability

This table compares Howard Hughes and Independence Realty Trust’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%
Independence Realty Trust	-0.03%	-0.01%	N/A

Insider and Institutional Ownership

93.8% of Howard Hughes shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.3% of Independence Realty Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 33.0% of Howard Hughes shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Independence Realty Trust shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Howard Hughes and Independence Realty Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Howard Hughes	0	0	2	0	3.00
Independence Realty Trust	0	2	5	0	2.71

Howard Hughes presently has a consensus target price of $82.00, suggesting a potential upside of 7.28%. Independence Realty Trust has a consensus target price of $20.86, suggesting a potential upside of 8.59%. Given Independence Realty Trust’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Independence Realty Trust is more favorable than Howard Hughes.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Howard Hughes and Independence Realty Trust”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Howard Hughes	$1.02 billion	3.74	-$550.95 million	$1.51	50.62
Independence Realty Trust	$660.98 million	6.54	-$17.23 million	N/A	N/A

Independence Realty Trust has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Howard Hughes.

Volatility & Risk

Howard Hughes has a beta of 1.48, meaning that its share price is 48% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Independence Realty Trust has a beta of 1.21, meaning that its share price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Howard Hughes beats Independence Realty Trust on 9 of the 13 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 Independence Realty Trust

Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: IRT) is a real estate investment trust that owns and operates multifamily communities, across non-gateway U.S. markets including Atlanta, GA, Dallas, TX, Denver, CO, Columbus, OH, Indianapolis, IN, Raleigh-Durham, NC, Oklahoma City, OK, Nashville, TN, Houston, TX, and Tampa, FL. IRT’s investment strategy is focused on gaining scale near major employment centers within key amenity rich submarkets that offer good school districts and high-quality retail. IRT aims to provide stockholders attractive risk-adjusted returns through diligent portfolio management, strong operational performance, and a consistent return on capital through distributions and capital appreciation.