Sun Communities (NYSE:SUI – Get Free Report) and SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC – Get Free Report) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, risk and analyst recommendations.
Risk & Volatility
Sun Communities has a beta of 0.88, meaning that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SBA Communications has a beta of 0.67, meaning that its stock price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Sun Communities and SBA Communications, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Sun Communities | 1 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 2.29 |
| SBA Communications | 0 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 2.77 |
Dividends
Sun Communities pays an annual dividend of $3.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. SBA Communications pays an annual dividend of $3.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. 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. SBA Communications pays out 61.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
99.6% of Sun Communities shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.3% of SBA Communications shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.9% of Sun Communities shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of SBA Communications shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Sun Communities and SBA Communications”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Sun Communities | $3.18 billion | 4.95 | -$201.00 million | $1.86 | 66.49 |
| SBA Communications | $2.66 billion | 8.23 | $501.81 million | $6.34 | 32.11 |
SBA Communications has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Sun Communities. SBA Communications is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sun Communities, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Sun Communities and SBA Communications’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Sun Communities | 7.46% | 3.21% | 1.40% |
| SBA Communications | 25.76% | -13.13% | 6.83% |
Summary
SBA Communications beats Sun Communities on 10 of the 17 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 SBA Communications
SBA Communications Corporation is a leading independent owner and operator of wireless communications infrastructure including towers, buildings, rooftops, distributed antenna systems (DAS) and small cells. With a portfolio of more than 39,000 communications sites throughout the Americas, Africa and in Asia, SBA is listed on NASDAQ under the symbol SBAC. Our organization is part of the S&P 500 and is one of the top Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) by market capitalization.
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