Sun Communities (NYSE:SUI) and Howard Hughes (NYSE:HHH) Critical Contrast

Howard Hughes (NYSE:HHH) and Sun Communities (NYSE:SUI) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Howard Hughes and Sun Communities, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Howard Hughes	0	0	2	0	3.00
Sun Communities	1	8	5	0	2.29

Howard Hughes presently has a consensus price target of $82.00, suggesting a potential downside of 2.25%. Sun Communities has a consensus price target of $139.08, suggesting a potential upside of 9.12%. Given Sun Communities’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Sun Communities is more favorable than Howard Hughes.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

93.8% of Howard Hughes shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.6% of Sun Communities shares are owned by institutional investors. 33.0% of Howard Hughes shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of Sun Communities shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Howard Hughes and Sun Communities”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	4.11	-$550.95 million	$1.51	55.56
Sun Communities	$3.22 billion	5.03	-$201.00 million	$1.86	68.52

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

Profitability

This table compares Howard Hughes and Sun Communities’ 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%
Sun Communities	7.46%	3.21%	1.40%

Volatility and Risk

Howard Hughes has a beta of 1.46, suggesting that its share price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sun Communities has a beta of 0.91, suggesting that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Sun Communities beats Howard Hughes on 10 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 Sun Communities

Established in 1975, Sun Communities, Inc. became a publicly owned corporation in December 1993. The Company is a fully integrated REIT listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol: SUI. As of December 31, 2023, the Company owned, operated, or had an interest in a portfolio of 667 developed MH, RV and Marina properties comprising 179,310 developed sites and approximately 48,030 wet slips and dry storage spaces in the U.S., the UK and Canada.