Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on the stock from $78.00 to $77.00. The stock had previously closed at $64.43, but opened at $62.50. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Equity LifeStyle Properties shares last traded at $62.69, with a volume of 193,143 shares trading hands.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial raised Equity LifeStyle Properties from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $69.00 to $68.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity LifeStyle Properties

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 564 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,995 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $533,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 121.4% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 383 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,533 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 22,861 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,523,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.21% of the company's stock.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Trading Down 0.5 %

The business has a 50-day moving average of $66.25 and a 200-day moving average of $67.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $12.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.36, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.72.

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.83. Equity LifeStyle Properties had a return on equity of 23.12% and a net margin of 24.05%. The business had revenue of $327.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.34 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $0.515 per share. This is a positive change from Equity LifeStyle Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Equity LifeStyle Properties's dividend payout ratio is 106.74%.

About Equity LifeStyle Properties

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.