Wall Street Zen Downgrades Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) to Sell

Key Points

• Equity Lifestyle Properties was downgraded from a "hold" to a "sell" rating by Wall Street Zen, marking a significant change in sentiment for the stock.
• Other analysts have varying ratings on ELS, with one upgrade to "buy" and several maintaining "hold" and "overweight" ratings, resulting in a current consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $71.50.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings report showed a net margin of 24.13% and revenue of $313.29 million, which was below analysts' estimates.

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Saturday.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. Compass Point raised shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $72.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Equity Lifestyle Properties from $82.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.50.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE ELS traded up $0.30 on Friday, hitting $61.73. 1,040,800 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,519,168. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a current ratio of 0.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $61.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.70. Equity Lifestyle Properties has a 52-week low of $58.15 and a 52-week high of $76.60.

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

Equity Lifestyle Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 26th will be given a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 26th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Equity Lifestyle Properties's payout ratio is currently 106.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equity Lifestyle Properties news, CFO Paul Seavey sold 10,000 shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 78,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,058,644.64. The trade was a 11.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Lifestyle Properties

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 121.4% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 383 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 673.7% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 441 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 75.0% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 644 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 874.7% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 848 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties during the 1st quarter worth $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.21% of the company's stock.

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.