Comparing Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) and Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS)

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

Risk & Volatility

Mid-America Apartment Communities has a beta of 0.77, meaning that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Equity Lifestyle Properties has a beta of 0.71, meaning that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Mid-America Apartment Communities and Equity Lifestyle Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mid-America Apartment Communities	25.98%	9.35%	4.84%
Equity Lifestyle Properties	24.13%	21.12%	6.49%

Dividends

Mid-America Apartment Communities pays an annual dividend of $6.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. Equity Lifestyle Properties pays an annual dividend of $2.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Mid-America Apartment Communities pays out 124.7% 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 106.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Mid-America Apartment Communities has increased its dividend for 16 consecutive years and Equity Lifestyle Properties has increased its dividend for 21 consecutive years.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Mid-America Apartment Communities and Equity Lifestyle Properties, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mid-America Apartment Communities	3	10	8	0	2.24
Equity Lifestyle Properties	0	4	8	1	2.77

Mid-America Apartment Communities presently has a consensus target price of $161.78, indicating a potential upside of 18.26%. Equity Lifestyle Properties has a consensus target price of $71.05, indicating a potential upside of 14.72%. Given Mid-America Apartment Communities’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Mid-America Apartment Communities is more favorable than Equity Lifestyle Properties.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Mid-America Apartment Communities 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
Mid-America Apartment Communities	$2.19 billion	7.31	$527.54 million	$4.86	28.15
Equity Lifestyle Properties	$1.53 billion	7.86	$367.01 million	$1.93	32.09

Mid-America Apartment Communities has higher revenue and earnings than Equity Lifestyle Properties. Mid-America Apartment Communities 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.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

93.6% of Mid-America Apartment Communities shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.2% of Equity Lifestyle Properties shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of Mid-America Apartment Communities shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Equity Lifestyle Properties shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Equity Lifestyle Properties beats Mid-America Apartment Communities on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mid-America Apartment Communities

Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the operation, acquisition, and development of apartment communities. It operates through the Same Store and Non-Same Store segments. The Same Store Communities segment represents those apartment communities that have been owned and stabilized for at least 12 months as of the first day of the calendar year. The Non-Same Store segment includes recent acquisitions, communities in development or lease-up. The company was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Germantown, TN.

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.