Sun Communities (NYSE:SUI) Upgraded by Truist Financial to Buy Rating

Truist Financial upgraded shares of Sun Communities (NYSE:SUI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on SUI. Bank of America downgraded Sun Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $147.00 to $114.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Sun Communities from $145.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird cut shares of Sun Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $126.00 in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Sun Communities from $145.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Sun Communities from $154.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $135.69.

Sun Communities Stock Up 1.9 %

SUI stock opened at $126.08 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.06 billion, a PE ratio of 67.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.89. Sun Communities has a 52 week low of $110.98 and a 52 week high of $147.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $124.39 and a 200 day moving average of $129.11.

Sun Communities (NYSE:SUI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $939.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $980.41 million. Sun Communities had a net margin of 7.46% and a return on equity of 3.21%. Sun Communities’s quarterly revenue was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.57 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sun Communities will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Communities Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. Sun Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 202.15%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sun Communities

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sun Communities during the 2nd quarter worth about $228,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Sun Communities by 5.6% during the second quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 8,108 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $976,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Sun Communities by 8.3% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 3,646 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $439,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Sun Communities by 1.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 7,034 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $846,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its position in shares of Sun Communities by 8.5% during the second quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 12,339 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,485,000 after purchasing an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. 99.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.