Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $64.43, but opened at $62.50. Equity LifeStyle Properties shares last traded at $62.69, with a volume of 193,143 shares traded.

The real estate investment trust reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.26). Equity LifeStyle Properties had a net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 23.12%. The company had revenue of $327.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.34 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.515 per share. This is a positive change from Equity LifeStyle Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 28th. Equity LifeStyle Properties’s payout ratio is presently 105.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ELS shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $78.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equity LifeStyle Properties currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.20.

Institutional Trading of Equity LifeStyle Properties

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ELS. National Pension Service acquired a new stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 121.4% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 383 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 43.5% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 564 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Stock Down 1.8 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $66.45 and a 200 day moving average of $67.62. The company has a market capitalization of $12.10 billion, a PE ratio of 32.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Company Profile

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.