The Howard Hughes Corporation (HHC, Financial) was formed in November 2010 as a tax-free spinoff from General Growth Properties, with a collection of disparate real estate holdings designed to receive appropriate management attention and recognition in the public markets. Pershing Square helped orchestrate the spinoff, hired the management team, and has been the largest investor in HHC since its inception. Management has done a superb job growing asset value, yet, the company has not received the recognition it deserves, i.e., an appropriate valuation in the public markets. Despite a more than three-fold increase over the last six years, it remains undervalued in our view.
HHC’s mission is to be the preeminent developer and operator of master planned communities (“MPCs”) and mixed-use properties. HHC’s management team has transformed the company’s disparate assets into a collection of high-quality core trophy assets. The majority of HHC’s value is now represented by the South Street Seaport, Ward Village in Hawaii and master planned communities in Houston, Las Vegas and Maryland. These assets are comprised of steady cash-flow generating properties and longer-term development opportunities that encompass more than 50 million square feet of real estate development potential.
HHC continued to make meaningful progress in 2016 to enhance the value of its key assets. In its operating asset segment, HHC grew net operating income (“NOI”) in 2016 to $135 million or $156 million annualizing Q4 NOI, from $118 million in 2015 (all excluding the Seaport, which is undergoing redevelopment). HHC management increased its projected stabilized 2020 NOI estimate to $232 million from $219 million.
In Hawaii, at its 60-acre coastal Ward Village property in the heart of Honolulu, HHC has four condo towers with nearly 1,400 units in various stages of completion. These towers have an estimated total cost of $1.5 billion on which the company expects to generate net margins of approximately 25% to 30%. These towers are over 80% sold with one tower projected to be delivered each year from now until 2019 (generating meaningful cash proceeds for the company). In total, HHC has entitlements to build more than 9 million square feet of mixed-use development with over 4,000 residences and 1 million square feet of retail upon completion of its plan at Ward Village.
At the Seaport, HHC owns more than 400,000 square feet of highly valuable real estate (along with 700,000 square feet of future development rights). Construction on the 170,000 square foot Pier 17 building is expected to be substantially completed by the end of 2017, with a grand opening in summer 2018. This architecturally significant building on the East River will have a unique group of tenants and a 1.5 acre rooftop year-round entertainment venue with iconic views. HHC advanced the revitalization of the Seaport with the approval for its Pier 17 Minor Modification, which will allow HHC to move and reconstruct the 53,000 square foot Tin Building. In Q1 2016, HHC sold an assemblage of properties it had acquired in 2014 and 2015 at the Seaport for $390 million generating a $140 million profit, which demonstrates the market appeal of the Seaport and management’s ability to create value.
While HHC’s share price performance (and intrinsic valuation creation) since its spinoff have been impressive, the share price has been flat over the last three years. Although management has done a superb job growing intrinsic value, the HHC story is largely unknown in the investment community. The HHC story and value proposition is complicated by the vast development potential that cannot be estimated by simply applying a multiple to existing cash flows. To address this concern, HHC recently started conducting quarterly earning conference calls and taking a more proactive approach to investor and analyst outreach. We believe HHC is undervalued and that further progress on asset stabilization and clarity around some of its bigger projects (e.g., Seaport and Ward Village) will help drive stock appreciation.
Howard Hughes’ total shareholder return was 0.8% in 2016.
From Bill Ackman (Trades, Portfolio)'s Pershing Square 2016 annual report.
