Howard Hughes Corporation (The) (NYSE: HHC) and Alexander & Baldwin Holdings (NYSE:ALEX) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.
Dividends
Alexander & Baldwin Holdings pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Howard Hughes Corporation (The) does not pay a dividend. Alexander & Baldwin Holdings pays out 133.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Howard Hughes Corporation (The) has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
80.4% of Howard Hughes Corporation (The) shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.6% of Alexander & Baldwin Holdings shares are owned by institutional investors. 20.7% of Howard Hughes Corporation (The) shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.6% of Alexander & Baldwin Holdings shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Howard Hughes Corporation (The) and Alexander & Baldwin Holdings’ gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | EBITDA | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Howard Hughes Corporation (The) | $1.06 billion | 4.89 | $295.39 million | $1.41 | 85.19 |
| Alexander & Baldwin Holdings | $405.40 million | 5.29 | $102.20 million | $0.21 | 207.67 |
Howard Hughes Corporation (The) has higher revenue and earnings than Alexander & Baldwin Holdings. Howard Hughes Corporation (The) is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Alexander & Baldwin Holdings, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility and Risk
Howard Hughes Corporation (The) has a beta of 1.42, suggesting that its stock price is 42% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alexander & Baldwin Holdings has a beta of 1.43, suggesting that its stock price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Howard Hughes Corporation (The) and Alexander & Baldwin Holdings’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Howard Hughes Corporation (The) | 5.69% | 4.80% | 1.98% |
| Alexander & Baldwin Holdings | 2.09% | 3.72% | 2.07% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent recommendations for Howard Hughes Corporation (The) and Alexander & Baldwin Holdings, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Howard Hughes Corporation (The) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2.67 |
| Alexander & Baldwin Holdings | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.50 |
Howard Hughes Corporation (The) currently has a consensus price target of $144.33, indicating a potential upside of 20.16%. Alexander & Baldwin Holdings has a consensus price target of $47.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.77%. Given Howard Hughes Corporation (The)’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Howard Hughes Corporation (The) is more favorable than Alexander & Baldwin Holdings.
Summary
Howard Hughes Corporation (The) beats Alexander & Baldwin Holdings on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
Howard Hughes Corporation (The) Company Profile
The Howard Hughes Corporation is a developer of master planned communities and mixed use properties. The Company is engaged in the ownership, management and the redevelopment or repositioning of real estate assets, as well as other real estate opportunities in the form of entitled and unentitled land and other development rights, also called Strategic Developments. It operates through three segments: Master Planned Communities, Operating Assets and Strategic Developments. Its Master Planned Communities segment consists of the development and sale of residential land and the development of commercial land to hold, develop or sell. Its master planned communities include The Woodlands, Summerlin, Maryland, Bridgeland and The Woodlands Hills. As of December 31, 2016, its Operating Assets segment included 54 properties, investments and other assets. As of December 31, 2016, the Strategic Developments segment included 23 development projects.
Alexander & Baldwin Holdings Company Profile
Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (A&B) is a real estate company. The Company operates through three segments: Commercial Real Estate, Land Operations, and Materials and Construction. In addition to its 15 retail centers in Hawaii, the Company owned seven industrial assets, seven office properties and a portfolio of urban ground leases comprising 106 acres in Hawaii, as of December 31, 2016. On the United States mainland, the Company owned seven remaining commercial assets, as of December 31, 2016. The Commercial Real Estate segment owns, operates and manages retail, industrial and office properties in Hawaii and on the Mainland. The Land Operations segment manages the Company’s land and real estate-related assets and deploys these assets to their use. The Materials and Construction segment performs asphalt paving as prime contractor and subcontractor; imports and sells liquid asphalt; mines, processes and sells basalt aggregate, and produces and sells asphaltic and ready-mix concrete.
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