Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.52 (NYSE:ELS)

Key Points

• Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, payable on October 10th to shareholders of record on September 26th, representing a 3.43% yield.
• The company has a dividend payout ratio of 97.2%, meaning its current dividend is covered by earnings, but analysts predict a future payout ratio of 63.4% as earnings are expected to increase.
• Equity Lifestyle Properties reported earnings of $0.69 per share for the last quarter, matching analyst expectations, and had a revenue of $313.29 million, which fell short of the consensus estimate.

Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 29th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 26th will be paid a dividend of 0.515 per share by the real estate investment trust on Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%.

Equity Lifestyle Properties has a dividend payout ratio of 97.2% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company's earnings fall. Research analysts expect Equity Lifestyle Properties to earn $3.25 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.06 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 63.4%.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Price Performance

Shares of ELS traded up $1.68 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $60.11. 1,836,600 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,491,692. The stock has a market cap of $11.49 billion, a PE ratio of 31.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $62.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.62. Equity Lifestyle Properties has a 12 month low of $58.31 and a 12 month high of $76.60.

Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69. The firm had revenue of $313.29 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.59 million. Equity Lifestyle Properties had a return on equity of 21.12% and a net margin of 24.13%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Equity Lifestyle Properties will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Paul Seavey sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.72, for a total transaction of $647,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 78,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,058,644.64. This trade represents a 11.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Lifestyle Properties

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ELS. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 14.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,516 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $435,000 after buying an additional 804 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 598.5% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 119,397 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $7,964,000 after purchasing an additional 102,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 62.3% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 23,114 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,542,000 after acquiring an additional 8,873 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.21% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. They set a "positive" rating and a $67.50 target price on the stock. Barclays raised Equity Lifestyle Properties from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $70.00 to $67.00 in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Equity Lifestyle Properties from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Equity Lifestyle Properties in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Equity Lifestyle Properties from $82.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.77.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Company Profile

Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the ownership and operation of lifestyle-oriented properties consisting primarily of manufactured home, and recreational vehicle communities. It operates through the following segments: Property Operations and Home Sales and Rentals Operations.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.