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

Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) shares gapped down before the market opened 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.

ELS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Equity LifeStyle Properties in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial raised Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.10.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Pension Service acquired a new position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 43.5% during the 4th 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $66.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.02 and a quick ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $12.19 billion, a PE ratio of 32.70, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.72.

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.83. Equity LifeStyle Properties had a net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 23.12%. The business had revenue of $327.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $391.34 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. Research analysts predict that Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 28th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. This is a boost from Equity LifeStyle Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Equity LifeStyle Properties’s payout ratio is 105.64%.

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.