Sun Communities (NYSE:SUI) and Agree Realty (NYSE:ADC) Critical Survey

Agree Realty (NYSE:ADC) and Sun Communities (NYSE:SUI) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, risk, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Volatility & Risk

Agree Realty has a beta of 0.64, meaning that its share price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sun Communities has a beta of 0.89, meaning that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Agree Realty and Sun Communities’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Agree Realty	31.62%	3.77%	2.39%
Sun Communities	7.46%	3.21%	1.40%

Dividends

Agree Realty pays an annual dividend of $3.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Sun Communities pays an annual dividend of $3.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Agree Realty pays out 168.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Sun Communities pays out 202.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Agree Realty is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Agree Realty and Sun Communities, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Agree Realty	1	3	11	1	2.75
Sun Communities	1	8	5	0	2.29

Agree Realty currently has a consensus target price of $78.53, suggesting a potential upside of 8.81%. Sun Communities has a consensus target price of $135.69, suggesting a potential upside of 9.87%. Given Sun Communities’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Sun Communities is more favorable than Agree Realty.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

97.8% of Agree Realty shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.6% of Sun Communities shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.8% of Agree Realty shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of Sun Communities shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Agree Realty and Sun Communities”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Agree Realty	$537.49 million	13.90	$169.96 million	$1.81	39.88
Sun Communities	$3.22 billion	4.88	-$201.00 million	$1.86	66.40

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

Summary

Agree Realty beats Sun Communities on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Agree Realty

Agree Realty Corporation is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that is RETHINKING RETAIL through the acquisition and development of properties net leased to industry-leading, omni-channel retail tenants. As of December 31, 2023, the Company owned and operated a portfolio of 2,135 properties, located in 49 states and containing approximately 44.2 million square feet of gross leasable area. The Company's common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "ADC".

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.