Russell Investments Group Ltd. Raises Stake in Sun Communities, Inc. (NYSE:SUI)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Sun Communities, Inc. (NYSE:SUI) by 40.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 930,216 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 267,695 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.73% of Sun Communities worth $114,388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Sun Communities during the fourth quarter valued at $888,783,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Sun Communities by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,344,020 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $288,244,000 after purchasing an additional 442,557 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in Sun Communities by 138.8% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 501,216 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $64,436,000 after purchasing an additional 291,329 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Sun Communities by 587.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 279,277 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,343,000 after purchasing an additional 238,677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc raised its holdings in Sun Communities by 343.5% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 277,988 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,098,000 after buying an additional 215,314 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.59% of the company’s stock.

Sun Communities Stock Performance

NYSE:SUI opened at $124.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 1.61. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $129.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.88 billion, a PE ratio of 66.90 and a beta of 0.84. Sun Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $110.98 and a 52-week high of $147.83.

Sun Communities (NYSE:SUI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.02. Sun Communities had a return on equity of 3.21% and a net margin of 7.46%. The company had revenue of $745.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $724.68 million. Analysts forecast that Sun Communities, Inc. will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Sun Communities Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Sun Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 508.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on SUI. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Sun Communities from $136.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sun Communities in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Sun Communities from $154.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Sun Communities from $145.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $136.60.

Sun Communities Company Profile

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.