Vestcor Inc Reduces Holdings in Sun Communities, Inc. (NYSE:SUI)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc has significantly reduced its holdings in Sun Communities, Inc. (NYSE:SUI) by 81.5%, owning only 2,134 shares after selling 9,405 shares in the first quarter.
• Director Jeff Blau made a notable purchase of 3,665 shares of Sun Communities at an average price of $117.99, increasing his position in the company.
• Sun Communities has recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.94 to $1.04 per share, yielding 3.3% on an annualized basis.

Vestcor Inc lessened its position in shares of Sun Communities, Inc. (NYSE:SUI - Free Report) by 81.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,134 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 9,405 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Sun Communities were worth $275,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its stake in Sun Communities by 30.3% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 16,373,446 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,013,414,000 after buying an additional 3,811,528 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox boosted its stake in shares of Sun Communities by 61.1% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 9,606,018 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,181,252,000 after purchasing an additional 3,644,853 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sun Communities by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,917,870 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $973,660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,684,214 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Sun Communities by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,549,540 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $682,429,000 after purchasing an additional 911,857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Sun Communities by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,829,816 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $225,012,000 after purchasing an additional 49,404 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.59% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeff Blau acquired 3,665 shares of Sun Communities stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $117.99 per share, for a total transaction of $432,433.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $432,433.35. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Sun Communities from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Colliers Securities assumed coverage on shares of Sun Communities in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $135.00 price target on shares of Sun Communities and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Truist Financial set a $137.00 price target on shares of Sun Communities and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Sun Communities from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $137.57.

Sun Communities Stock Performance

Shares of SUI traded up $1.02 on Tuesday, reaching $126.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,058,156 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,178,798. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 7.08 and a quick ratio of 7.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.41, a PEG ratio of 8.54 and a beta of 0.83. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $124.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $125.79. Sun Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.22 and a 12-month high of $147.83.

Sun Communities (NYSE:SUI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.09. Sun Communities had a net margin of 48.86% and a negative return on equity of 0.60%. The company had revenue of $623.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $614.79 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.86 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Sun Communities, Inc. will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is a boost from Sun Communities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Sun Communities's payout ratio is 40.70%.

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.