Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) reached a new 52-week low on Friday. The stock traded as low as $58.70 and last traded at $58.8360, with a volume of 17247 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $59.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ELS. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and set a $65.00 price target (down from $72.00) on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings lowered Equity Lifestyle Properties from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Equity Lifestyle Properties to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley reissued a “mixed” rating and issued a $59.00 price target (down from $62.50) on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from $70.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.88.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Stock Down 1.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $11.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $63.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.78. 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 (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). The business had revenue of $397.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $383.66 million. Equity Lifestyle Properties had a net margin of 25.92% and a return on equity of 22.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.69 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Friday, September 25th will be issued a $0.5425 dividend. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 25th. Equity Lifestyle Properties’s payout ratio is currently 104.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Lifestyle Properties

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,531 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $808,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 10.6% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 185,999 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,988,000 after purchasing an additional 17,878 shares in the last quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties during the second quarter worth approximately $709,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties during the second quarter valued at approximately $103,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 6.1% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 62,594 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,034,000 after purchasing an additional 3,605 shares during the last quarter. 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, operates and manages residential communities and resort properties across the United States. Its portfolio primarily consists of manufactured home communities, recreational vehicle (RV) resorts and campgrounds.

The company provides long-term homesites for manufactured housing residents, as well as seasonal and transient accommodations for RV owners and vacationers. Its properties generally offer amenities and services such as clubhouses, swimming pools, recreational facilities, community events and utility connections.