Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) Raises Dividend to $0.52 Per Share

Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 6th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of 0.515 per share by the real estate investment trust on Friday, April 11th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is a 8.0% increase from Equity LifeStyle Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48.

Equity LifeStyle Properties has increased its dividend by an average of 8.6% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 21 consecutive years. Equity LifeStyle Properties has a payout ratio of 97.6% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings decline. Analysts expect Equity LifeStyle Properties to earn $3.25 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.06 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 63.4%.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of ELS stock opened at $66.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.03 and a current ratio of 0.02. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.78 billion, a PE ratio of 34.28, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79. Equity LifeStyle Properties has a 52-week low of $59.82 and a 52-week high of $76.60.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ELS shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $69.00 to $68.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $72.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Truist Financial raised Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.78.

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.