Reviewing Sun Communities (NYSE:SUI) and Rexford Industrial Realty (NYSE:REXR)

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

99.6% of Sun Communities shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.5% of Rexford Industrial Realty shares are held by institutional investors. 1.9% of Sun Communities shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Rexford Industrial Realty shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Sun Communities and Rexford Industrial Realty’s 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%
Rexford Industrial Realty	30.40%	3.35%	2.29%

Earnings & Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sun Communities	$3.22 billion	4.91	-$201.00 million	$1.86	66.76
Rexford Industrial Realty	$797.83 million	11.54	$238.02 million	$1.23	33.65

Rexford Industrial Realty has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Sun Communities. Rexford Industrial 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Sun Communities and Rexford Industrial Realty, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sun Communities	1	7	5	1	2.43
Rexford Industrial Realty	1	6	3	0	2.20

Sun Communities currently has a consensus target price of $139.50, indicating a potential upside of 12.34%. Rexford Industrial Realty has a consensus target price of $51.09, indicating a potential upside of 23.44%. Given Rexford Industrial Realty’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Rexford Industrial Realty is more favorable than Sun Communities.

Risk & Volatility

Sun Communities has a beta of 0.91, indicating that its stock price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Rexford Industrial Realty has a beta of 0.94, indicating that its stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Sun Communities pays an annual dividend of $3.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Rexford Industrial Realty pays an annual dividend of $1.67 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. 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. Rexford Industrial Realty pays out 135.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Rexford Industrial Realty is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Rexford Industrial Realty beats Sun Communities on 9 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 Rexford Industrial Realty

Rexford Industrial creates value by investing in, operating and redeveloping industrial properties throughout infill Southern California, the world's fourth largest industrial market and consistently the highest-demand with lowest-supply major market in the nation. The Company's highly differentiated strategy enables internal and external growth opportunities through its proprietary value creation and asset management capabilities. Rexford Industrial's high-quality, irreplaceable portfolio comprises 371 properties with approximately 45.0 million rentable square feet occupied by a stable and diverse tenant base. Structured as a real estate investment trust (REIT) listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "REXR," Rexford Industrial is an S&P MidCap 400 Index member.