Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Sell”

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

Several other research firms have also commented on ELS. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Equity Lifestyle Properties from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “inline” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.46.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE ELS opened at $64.07 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.19, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.05 and a current ratio of 0.05. Equity Lifestyle Properties has a one year low of $58.15 and a one year high of $70.35. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $61.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.29.

Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.75. Equity Lifestyle Properties had a net margin of 24.97% and a return on equity of 20.99%. The company had revenue of $393.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $389.39 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.72 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Equity Lifestyle Properties will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Equity Lifestyle Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ELS. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 1.8% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,268,436 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $824,943,000 after purchasing an additional 237,090 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,823,626 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $414,194,000 after buying an additional 1,674,281 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 114.5% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,375,154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $326,272,000 after buying an additional 2,868,678 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 12.2% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,724,515 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $291,363,000 after acquiring an additional 515,063 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 0.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,071,627 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $250,491,000 after acquiring an additional 20,600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

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.