Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $73.78.

Several analysts recently issued reports on ELS shares. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Compass Point boosted their target price on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $72.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $69.00 to $68.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity LifeStyle Properties

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Moran Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,721 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,264,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 31.3% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 613 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 43.5% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 564 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC grew 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 increased 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 valued at $1,523,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Stock Performance

NYSE:ELS opened at $66.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.03 and a current ratio of 0.02. Equity LifeStyle Properties has a fifty-two week low of $59.82 and a fifty-two week high of $76.60. The firm has a market cap of $12.75 billion, a PE ratio of 34.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $66.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.47.

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.76. Equity LifeStyle Properties had a net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 23.12%. Equities research analysts predict that Equity LifeStyle Properties will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.515 per share. This is a boost from Equity LifeStyle Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Equity LifeStyle Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.95%.

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.