Head to Head Review: Sun Communities (NYSE:SUI) versus Apartment Investment and Management (NYSE:AIV)

Sun Communities (NYSE:SUI) and Apartment Investment and Management (NYSE:AIV) are both real estate companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Sun Communities and Apartment Investment and Management’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sun Communities	-36.00%	5.02%	2.82%
Apartment Investment and Management	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Sun Communities and Apartment Investment and Management, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sun Communities	1	5	9	2	2.71
Apartment Investment and Management	1	0	0	0	1.00

Sun Communities presently has a consensus target price of $136.25, suggesting a potential upside of 13.03%. Given Sun Communities’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Sun Communities is more favorable than Apartment Investment and Management.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Sun Communities and Apartment Investment and Management”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sun Communities	$2.31 billion	6.24	$1.37 billion	($6.16)	-19.57
Apartment Investment and Management	$138.49 million	1.63	$554.01 million	$3.88	0.40

Sun Communities has higher revenue and earnings than Apartment Investment and Management. Sun Communities is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Apartment Investment and Management, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

99.6% of Sun Communities shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.3% of Apartment Investment and Management shares are held by institutional investors. 1.6% of Sun Communities shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.9% of Apartment Investment and Management shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Sun Communities has a beta of 0.75, meaning that its share price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Apartment Investment and Management has a beta of 1.22, meaning that its share price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Sun Communities beats Apartment Investment and Management on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Apartment Investment and Management

Apartment Investment & Management Co. operates as a real estate investment trust that engages in the acquisition, ownership, management and redevelopment of apartment properties. The company was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Denver, CO.