Sun Communities, Inc. (NYSE:SUI) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Sun Communities, Inc. (NYSE:SUI) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $139.2969.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Sun Communities from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Sun Communities from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Colliers Securities upgraded Sun Communities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Bank of America upgraded Sun Communities from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $140.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Sun Communities from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sun Communities news, Director Gary Shiffman sold 25,031 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.96, for a total transaction of $3,002,718.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 857,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,897,009.56. This represents a 2.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sun Communities

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SUI. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Sun Communities by 13,665.2% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 25,446,581 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,051,300,000 after acquiring an additional 25,261,719 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sun Communities in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,649,715,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Sun Communities in the 4th quarter valued at about $753,364,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Sun Communities by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,383,984 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $699,862,000 after purchasing an additional 214,634 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Sun Communities by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,039,870 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $624,490,000 after purchasing an additional 554,075 shares in the last quarter. 99.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sun Communities Trading Down 0.3%

SUI opened at $114.58 on Friday. Sun Communities has a fifty-two week low of $113.80 and a fifty-two week high of $137.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 2.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.16, a PEG ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $120.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $125.03.

Sun Communities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Sun Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently -63.19%.

About Sun Communities

Sun Communities, Inc (NYSE:SUI) is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and develops residential and recreational properties. Its portfolio is centered on manufactured housing communities, where residents typically lease sites for manufactured homes, as well as recreational vehicle communities and resorts that provide short-term and long-term accommodations.

The company also operates marinas, offering services that may include boat slips, storage, fueling and related amenities.