Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) Upgraded at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on ELS. UBS Group cut their target price on Equity Lifestyle Properties from $76.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Evercore set a $68.00 target price on Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down from $72.00) on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Morgan Stanley restated a “mixed” rating and set a $59.00 price objective (down from $62.50) on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Equity Lifestyle Properties currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.66.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of ELS stock opened at $59.50 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.63. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $61.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Equity Lifestyle Properties has a 12-month low of $57.46 and a 12-month high of $69.00.

Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by ($0.22). Equity Lifestyle Properties had a return on equity of 22.31% and a net margin of 25.92%. The firm had revenue of $397.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $383.66 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Equity Lifestyle Properties will post 3.20 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 25th were issued a $0.5425 dividend. This represents a $2.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 25th. Equity Lifestyle Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 104.33%.

Institutional Trading of Equity Lifestyle Properties

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Equity Lifestyle Properties in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,576,449,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties during the second quarter worth about $125,301,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Equity Lifestyle Properties during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $91,434,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties during the second quarter worth approximately $89,012,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties during the second quarter worth $69,938,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

About Equity Lifestyle Properties

Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc (NYSE:ELS) is a real estate investment trust that owns and operates manufactured home communities, recreational vehicle resorts and marinas. Its properties provide residential sites for manufactured homes and park model homes, as well as vacation-oriented accommodations and facilities for RV owners and boaters.

The company serves a range of residents and travelers through long-term manufactured housing communities, seasonal and transient RV resorts, and marina properties.