Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, real estate investment and development company Howard Hughes (NYSE: HHC) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Howard Hughes' business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Howard Hughes facts

Headquarters (Founded) Dallas (1913)
Market Cap $1.78 billion
Industry Diversified REIT
Trailing-12-Month Revenue $187 million
Management

CEO David Weinreb

CFO Andrew Richardson
Trailing-12-Month Return on Equity (3.8%)
Cash/Debt $276 million / $307 million

Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 97% of the 172 members who have rated Howard Hughes believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include fellow Fool Andy Cross (TMFOpie), who is ranked in the top 5% of our community, and kenjotto.

Less than two months ago, Andy nicely summed up the bull case:

HHC is a long-term asset play backed by some smart investing dollars. Their Hawaii[a]n assets (a play on intl trade) could turn out to be very profitable. In the short-term the stock could bo[u]nce all over the place because the earnings are lumpy. But ultimately they are worth more than $45 per share once valued in.

In fact, Howard Hughes currently sports a cheapish price-to-book of 0.8. That represents a clear discount to industry peers like Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG) (8.2) and Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE: VNO) (2.6).

CAPS member kenjotto elaborates on the bull case:

HHC is a newly formed company comprising of high quality assets cherry picked out of the former [General Properties (NYSE: GGP)] during bankruptcy. It is developing it assets into world class planned communities, operating mixed-use properties, and high value for-sale locations. Great point No. 1 -- some of these assets are valued at little to zero on the balance sheet. Great point No. 2 -- this incredible company was put together by Bill Ackman of Pershing Square, and the management team consists of strong leaders from TPMC Realty. So, it's got a rock star team piloting high quality properties valued at near zero based on their cost. It should be a recipe for incredible returns for those who can ride out the development time.

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