Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) Upgraded at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $78.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on ELS. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $69.00 to $68.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Evercore ISI dropped 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 note on Tuesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Truist Financial raised Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equity LifeStyle Properties presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.20.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Stock Down 3.1 %

Equity LifeStyle Properties stock opened at $65.94 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Equity LifeStyle Properties has a 1-year low of $59.82 and a 1-year high of $76.60. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.25. The company has a market capitalization of $12.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.72.

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.76. Equity LifeStyle Properties had a net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 23.12%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Equity LifeStyle Properties will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is a positive change from Equity LifeStyle Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Equity LifeStyle Properties’s payout ratio is 105.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity LifeStyle Properties

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 43.5% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 564 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 121.4% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 383 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Carmel Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,533 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $435,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 22,861 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,523,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $217,000 after buying an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. 97.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.