Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) versus Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) Financial Analysis

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) and Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Mid-America Apartment Communities and Equity Lifestyle Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mid-America Apartment Communities	25.98%	9.35%	4.84%
Equity Lifestyle Properties	24.13%	21.12%	6.49%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Mid-America Apartment Communities and Equity Lifestyle Properties”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mid-America Apartment Communities	$2.19 billion	7.40	$527.54 million	$4.86	28.50
Equity Lifestyle Properties	$1.53 billion	7.55	$367.01 million	$1.93	30.82

Mid-America Apartment Communities has higher revenue and earnings than Equity Lifestyle Properties. Mid-America Apartment Communities is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Equity Lifestyle Properties, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

93.6% of Mid-America Apartment Communities shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.2% of Equity Lifestyle Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.3% of Mid-America Apartment Communities shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Equity Lifestyle Properties shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Mid-America Apartment Communities has a beta of 0.78, indicating that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Equity Lifestyle Properties has a beta of 0.73, indicating that its stock price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Mid-America Apartment Communities pays an annual dividend of $6.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. Equity Lifestyle Properties pays an annual dividend of $2.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Mid-America Apartment Communities pays out 124.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Equity Lifestyle Properties pays out 106.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Mid-America Apartment Communities has increased its dividend for 16 consecutive years and Equity Lifestyle Properties has increased its dividend for 21 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Mid-America Apartment Communities and Equity Lifestyle Properties, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mid-America Apartment Communities	2	8	8	0	2.33
Equity Lifestyle Properties	0	3	8	1	2.83

Mid-America Apartment Communities presently has a consensus price target of $162.53, indicating a potential upside of 17.34%. Equity Lifestyle Properties has a consensus price target of $71.05, indicating a potential upside of 19.46%. Given Equity Lifestyle Properties’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Equity Lifestyle Properties is more favorable than Mid-America Apartment Communities.

Summary

Equity Lifestyle Properties beats Mid-America Apartment Communities on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mid-America Apartment Communities

Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the operation, acquisition, and development of apartment communities. It operates through the Same Store and Non-Same Store segments. The Same Store Communities segment represents those apartment communities that have been owned and stabilized for at least 12 months as of the first day of the calendar year. The Non-Same Store segment includes recent acquisitions, communities in development or lease-up. The company was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Germantown, TN.

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. The Property Operations segment owns and operates land lease properties. The Home Sales and Rentals Operations segment purchases, sells, and leases homes. The company was founded by James M. Hankins in December 1992 and is headquartered in Chicago, IL.