Retirement Systems of Alabama Makes New $13.92 Million Investment in Sun Communities, Inc. $SUI

Retirement Systems of Alabama bought a new position in Sun Communities, Inc. (NYSE:SUI) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 125,631 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $13,917,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned 0.11% of Sun Communities as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SUI. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sun Communities in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,649,715,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Sun Communities by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,812,301 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $228,280,000 after buying an additional 51,588 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Sun Communities by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,536,249 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $184,212,000 after buying an additional 31,497 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Sun Communities in the second quarter valued at about $156,841,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Sun Communities during the second quarter valued at about $122,737,000. 99.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SUI. Bank of America upgraded Sun Communities from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Sun Communities to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Communities in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Sun Communities from $138.00 to $131.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Sun Communities from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sun Communities currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.65.

Sun Communities Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:SUI opened at $117.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 4.68 and a quick ratio of 4.68. Sun Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $109.77 and a 1 year high of $137.85. The company has a market cap of $14.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.92, a PEG ratio of 5.99 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $115.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.14.

Sun Communities (NYSE:SUI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $558.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $563.59 million. Sun Communities had a negative net margin of 36.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.02%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.28 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Sun Communities, Inc. will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. Sun Communities’s payout ratio is -72.73%.

Sun Communities Profile

Sun Communities, Inc. is a real estate investment trust that owns and operates manufactured housing communities, recreational vehicle (RV) communities and resorts, and marinas. Its properties serve long-term residents as well as vacationers and boaters, with offerings that include home sites, RV accommodations, boat slips and related amenities. Founded in 1975, the company has expanded beyond its original manufactured housing business through acquisitions and development. Its portfolio spans the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.