If You Invested $1,000 In Sun Communities 20 Years Ago, How Much Would You Have Now?

Sun Communities, Inc. SUI is a residential real estate investment trust (REIT) that focuses on owning manufactured housing, residential vehicle communities and marinas. The company currently owns a portfolio of 666 properties, which includes 351 manufactured housing communities, 179 residential vehicle communities and 136 marina properties.

It is set to report its Q3 2024 earnings on October 23. Wall Street analysts expect the company to post an EPS of $2.51, down from $2.57 in the year-ago period. According to data from Benzinga Pro, quarterly revenue is expected to be $975.77 million, down from $983.20 million in the year-ago period.

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If You Bought Sun Communities Stock 20 Years Ago

The company's stock traded around $38.50 per share 20 years ago. If you had invested $1,000, you could have bought approximately 26 shares of Sun Communities stock. Currently, shares are trading at $132.52, which means your investment's value could have soared to $3,442 because of stock price appreciation. But wait, the company also paid dividends during these 20 years. 

Sun Communities’ dividend yield is currently 2.84%. Over the last twenty years, it paid around $47 in dividends per share, which means you could have made around $1,221 from dividends alone. 

Summing up $3,442 and $1,221, we end up with the final value of your investment, which is $4,663. This is how much you could have made if you had invested $1,000 in Sun Communities stock 20 years ago. This means a total return of 366.3%. However, this figure is even lower than the S&P 500 total return for the same period, which is 568.97%.

What Could The Next 20 Years Bring? 

Sun Communities has a consensus rating of Outperform and a price target of $147.27 based on the ratings of 12 analysts. The price target implies around 11% potential upside from the current stock price.

On July 31, the company reported its Q2 2024 earnings, posting core funds from operations (FFO) per share of $1.86, missing the consensus estimate of $1.88, and revenues of $864 million, compared to the consensus of $890.62 million, per Benzinga. 

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“We are pleased to have delivered solid second-quarter results while advancing our strategy focused on delivering reliable earnings growth. In our Manufactured Housing and Marina segments we saw strong NOI growth supported by sustained demand,” said Gary A. Shiffman, Chairman, President and CEO. “We are also seeing growth in annual RV revenues, and while transient RV is still experiencing some headwinds, we are actively managing our controllable expenses. Our U.K. strategy remains focused on shifting a larger proportion of our income from home sale margins to the resilient, reliable NOI generated by real property rents. Finally, we are executing on our capital recycling objectives. Year to date, we have sold over $300 million of properties and used the proceeds to pay down debt.”

Following the results announcement, several Wall Street analysts, including RBC Capital, Truist Securities and Evercore ISI, raised their price targets on Sun Communities stock.

In summary, growth-focused investors may not find Sun Communities stock attractive, given only modest historical stock price gains and expected upside potential of just 11%. This piece by Benzinga highlights a stock, which will be appealing to growth-focused investors. It turned $1,000 into $17,739 since its 2004 IPO. 

Conversely, Sun Communities stock can be an attractive choice for income-focused investors as they can benefit from the company's solid dividend yield of 2.84% and consistent hikes.

Better Yields Than Some REITs?

The current high-interest-rate environment has created an incredible opportunity for income-seeking investors to earn massive yields, but not through REITs.

Arrived Homes, the Jeff Bezos-backed investment platform has launched its Private Credit Fund, which provides access to a pool of short-term loans backed by residential real estate with a target 7% to 9% net annual yield paid to investors monthly. It paid 8.1% in July. The best part? Unlike other private credit funds, this one has a minimum investment of only $100. 

As long-term rates go down and short-term rates stay high, there’s a unique chance to invest in fix & flip loans before yields drop. Check out Benzinga's favorite high-yield offerings.