Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) Price Target to $70.00

Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $70.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the real estate investment trust's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective suggests a potential upside of 19.74% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on ELS. Barclays began coverage on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. They issued a "positive" rating and a $67.50 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Compass Point upgraded shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $72.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.05.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Price Performance

Equity Lifestyle Properties stock traded down $1.17 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $58.46. The company had a trading volume of 1,469,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,489,237. The company has a market capitalization of $11.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.72. Equity Lifestyle Properties has a 12-month low of $58.31 and a 12-month high of $76.60. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $62.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.04 and a quick ratio of 0.03.

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 for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69. The firm had revenue of $313.29 million for 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 last year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.72, for a total value of $647,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 78,162 shares in the company, valued at $5,058,644.64. This represents a 11.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equity Lifestyle Properties

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in 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 worth $25,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 673.7% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 441 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares during the period. National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 75.0% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 644 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 874.7% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 848 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 761 shares during the period. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties during the first quarter worth about $61,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.