Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Equity Lifestyle Properties received a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 16 analysts, with seven buys, one strong buy, seven holds and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $68.52 versus a recent share price of $62.37.
• Institutional investors own 97.21% of ELS, with major holders including BlackRock, T. Rowe Price and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System recently increasing or initiating positions.
• The company’s latest quarterly revenue rose 5.5% year over year to $397.81 million, but adjusted EPS of $0.50 fell short of the $0.72 consensus estimate. ELS also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5425, equivalent to a 3.5% annualized yield.

Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $68.5179.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Odeon Capital Group set a $65.00 target price on Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Barclays set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a "mixed" rating and issued a $59.00 target price (down from $62.50) on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Equity Lifestyle Properties to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Lifestyle Properties

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ELS. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Equity Lifestyle Properties in the second quarter worth about $1,576,449,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 6,287.7% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 13,891,940 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $895,336,000 after purchasing an additional 13,674,462 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 303.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,948,613 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $966,648,000 after purchasing an additional 11,999,874 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 253.7% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,147,048 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $191,025,000 after purchasing an additional 2,257,299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its position in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 10,614,040 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $643,331,000 after buying an additional 2,246,622 shares during the period. 97.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Trading Down 0.4%

Equity Lifestyle Properties stock opened at $62.37 on Friday. Equity Lifestyle Properties has a 12-month low of $58.72 and a 12-month high of $69.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $64.85 and a 200 day moving average of $64.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $397.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $383.66 million. Equity Lifestyle Properties had a return on equity of 22.31% and a net margin of 25.92%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Equity Lifestyle Properties will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Friday, September 25th will be given a $0.5425 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 25th. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Equity Lifestyle Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 104.33%.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Company Profile

Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc NYSE: ELS is a publicly traded real estate investment trust specializing in the acquisition, development, ownership and operation of manufactured home communities and recreational vehicle resorts. The company's portfolio includes more than 450 properties across the United States and Canada, serving over 200,000 residents and visitors. ELS organizes its operations into two primary segments: manufactured housing communities, which provide long-term housing solutions, and upscale RV and seasonal resorts designed for leisure travelers and seasonal patrons.

In its manufactured home division, ELS offers home-site leases combined with community amenities such as landscaped common areas, clubhouses, swimming pools and organized resident events.

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