Financial Survey: Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) versus Invitation Home (NYSE:INVH)

Invitation Home (NYSE:INVH) and Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk and valuation.

Earnings & Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Invitation Home	$2.70 billion	6.39	$453.92 million	$0.95	29.65
Equity Lifestyle Properties	$1.44 billion	8.23	$367.01 million	$1.99	30.70

Invitation Home has higher revenue and earnings than Equity Lifestyle Properties. Invitation Home 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.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

96.8% of Invitation Home shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.2% of Equity Lifestyle Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Invitation Home shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Equity Lifestyle Properties shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Invitation Home	21.70%	6.03%	3.14%
Equity Lifestyle Properties	24.97%	20.99%	6.71%

Volatility and Risk

Invitation Home has a beta of 0.81, indicating that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Equity Lifestyle Properties has a beta of 0.71, indicating that its stock price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Invitation Home and Equity Lifestyle Properties, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Invitation Home	0	8	9	0	2.53
Equity Lifestyle Properties	0	4	7	1	2.75

Invitation Home presently has a consensus target price of $35.78, suggesting a potential upside of 27.03%. Equity Lifestyle Properties has a consensus target price of $70.14, suggesting a potential upside of 14.80%. Given Invitation Home’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Invitation Home is more favorable than Equity Lifestyle Properties.

Dividends

Invitation Home pays an annual dividend of $1.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Equity Lifestyle Properties pays an annual dividend of $2.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Invitation Home pays out 122.1% 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 103.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Invitation Home has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Equity Lifestyle Properties has raised its dividend for 21 consecutive years.

Summary

Equity Lifestyle Properties beats Invitation Home on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Invitation Home

Invitation Homes, an S&P 500 company, is the nation's premier single-family home leasing and management company, meeting changing lifestyle demands by providing access to high-quality, updated homes with valued features such as close proximity to jobs and access to good schools. The company's mission, Together with you, we make a house a home, reflects its commitment to providing homes where individuals and families can thrive and high-touch service that continuously enhances residents' living experiences.

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.