Head-To-Head Comparison: Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) versus Gadsden Properties (OTCMKTS:GADS)

Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) and Gadsden Properties (OTCMKTS:GADS) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Equity Lifestyle Properties and Gadsden Properties”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Equity Lifestyle Properties	$1.53 billion	8.11	$386.51 million	$2.01	31.87
Gadsden Properties	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Equity Lifestyle Properties has higher revenue and earnings than Gadsden Properties.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

97.2% of Equity Lifestyle Properties shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of Equity Lifestyle Properties shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.0% of Gadsden Properties shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Equity Lifestyle Properties and Gadsden Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Equity Lifestyle Properties	25.24%	21.26%	6.76%
Gadsden Properties	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Equity Lifestyle Properties and Gadsden Properties, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Equity Lifestyle Properties	1	7	7	1	2.50
Gadsden Properties	0	0	0	0	0.00

Equity Lifestyle Properties presently has a consensus target price of $69.05, indicating a potential upside of 7.80%. Given Equity Lifestyle Properties’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Equity Lifestyle Properties is more favorable than Gadsden Properties.

Volatility and Risk

Equity Lifestyle Properties has a beta of 0.76, meaning that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gadsden Properties has a beta of -8.12, meaning that its stock price is 912% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Equity Lifestyle Properties beats Gadsden Properties on 10 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Gadsden Properties

Gadsden Properties, Inc. is a Nevada corporation that was formed on December 28, 2010. Gadsden concentrates primarily on investments in high quality income-producing assets, residential developments and other opportunistic commercial properties in secondary and tertiary markets across the United States. The Company derives value from smaller, flexible retail investments that range from $5 million to $50 million and off-market mixed-use properties ranging from $50 million to $250 million. As a result of this chosen strategy, we believe that Gadsden is developing a unique competitive advantage that generally allows the Company to invest in markets and assets that are often overlooked by larger institutional investors, such as publicly-traded REITs and other large institutional investors. As part of its strategy, Gadsden attracts specific sellers that prefer the tax deferral advantages offered through issuing operating partnership units in exchange for their properties. These real estate assets are typically operated by independent owners that are seeking to monetize their real estate holdings, and who are typically not well capitalized or well-seasoned real estate operators. These transactions create a variety of outcomes for Gadsden and the sellers typically resulting in lease-up and value-added opportunities that may not be otherwise achieved.