Jefferies Financial Group Upgrades Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) to Strong-Buy

Key Points

• Jefferies upgraded Equity Lifestyle Properties to “strong buy,” though the broader analyst consensus remains “hold,” with an average price target of $68.02.
• ELS shares opened at $59.17, near the lower end of their 52-week range of $57.46 to $69.00. The REIT’s latest quarterly revenue rose 5.5% year over year to $397.81 million, but earnings per share of $0.50 missed estimates of $0.72.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.21% of the stock, with several firms recently increasing their positions.

Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated a "mixed" rating and issued a $59.00 target price (down from $62.50) on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Truist Financial set a $64.00 price target on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Mizuho restated a "neutral" rating and set a $65.00 price target (down from $72.00) on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Evercore set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Barclays set a $69.00 target price on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $68.02.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ELS opened at $59.17 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.02 and a quick ratio of 0.02. Equity Lifestyle Properties has a 1 year low of $57.46 and a 1 year high of $69.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.48 billion, a PE ratio of 28.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.63. The business's 50 day moving average price is $62.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.13.

Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $397.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $383.66 million. Equity Lifestyle Properties had a net margin of 25.92% and a return on equity of 22.31%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Equity Lifestyle Properties will post 3.20 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Equity Lifestyle Properties

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CX Institutional raised its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 1,288.6% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 611 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 567 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,531 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $808,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 10.6% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 185,999 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $11,988,000 after purchasing an additional 17,878 shares during the period. Finally, Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in the second quarter valued at about $709,000. 97.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Company Profile

Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc NYSE: ELS is a real estate investment trust that owns and operates manufactured home communities, recreational vehicle resorts and marinas. Its properties provide residential sites for manufactured homes and park model homes, as well as vacation-oriented accommodations and facilities for RV owners and boaters.

The company serves a range of residents and travelers through long-term manufactured housing communities, seasonal and transient RV resorts, and marina properties.

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