Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT) and Sun Communities (NYSE:SUI) Critical Comparison

Sun Communities (NYSE:SUI) and Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Sun Communities and Camden Property Trust”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sun Communities	$3.22 billion	4.82	$101.80 million	$7.98	15.74
Camden Property Trust	$1.57 billion	6.90	$163.29 million	$2.47	41.18

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

Volatility & Risk

Sun Communities has a beta of 0.86, meaning that its stock price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Camden Property Trust has a beta of 0.81, meaning that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

99.6% of Sun Communities shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.2% of Camden Property Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.8% of Sun Communities shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Camden Property Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Sun Communities and Camden Property Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sun Communities	1	7	5	0	2.31
Camden Property Trust	2	9	7	0	2.28

Sun Communities presently has a consensus price target of $137.58, indicating a potential upside of 9.55%. Camden Property Trust has a consensus price target of $119.04, indicating a potential upside of 17.03%. Given Camden Property Trust’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Camden Property Trust is more favorable than Sun Communities.

Dividends

Sun Communities pays an annual dividend of $4.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Camden Property Trust pays an annual dividend of $4.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Sun Communities pays out 52.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Camden Property Trust pays out 170.0% 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 has raised its dividend for 8 consecutive years and Camden Property Trust has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Sun Communities and Camden Property Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sun Communities	42.58%	-4.51%	-2.19%
Camden Property Trust	9.99%	3.30%	1.74%

Summary

Camden Property Trust 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 Camden Property Trust

Camden Property Trust, an S&P 500 Company, is a real estate company primarily engaged in the ownership, management, development, redevelopment, acquisition, and construction of multifamily apartment communities. Camden owns and operates 172 properties containing 58,250 apartment homes across the United States. Upon completion of 5 properties currently under development, the Company’s portfolio will increase to 59,996 apartment homes in 177 properties. Camden has been recognized as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For by FORTUNE magazine for 17 consecutive years, most recently ranking #24.