By Rob Otman
Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE: ELS) is an $8 billion company today. Investors that bought shares one year ago are sitting on a 9.81% total return. That’s below the S&P 500’s return of 18.48%.
Equity LifeStyle Properties stock is underperforming the market. It’s beaten down, but it reports earnings soon. So is it a good time to buy? To answer this question, we’ve turned to the Investment U Stock Grader. Our Research Team built this system to diagnose the financial health of a company.
Our system looks at six key metrics…
[iu-adbox]
✗ Earnings-per-Share (EPS) Growth: Equity LifeStyle Properties reported a recent EPS growth rate of 9.52%. That’s below the REIT industry average of 16.13%. That’s not a good sign. We like to see companies that have higher earnings growth.
✓ Price-to-Earnings (P/E): The average price-to-earnings ratio of the REIT industry is 55.04. And Equity LifeStyle Properties’ ratio comes in at 42.03. It’s trading at a better value than many of its competitors.
✗ Debt-to-Equity: The debt-to-equity ratio for Equity LifeStyle Properties stock is 186.87%. That’s above the REIT industry average of 92.53%. That’s not a good sign. Equity LifeStyle Properties’ debt levels should be lower.
✗ Free Cash Flow per Share Growth: Equity LifeStyle Properties’ FCF has been lower than that of its competitors over the last year. That’s not good for investors. In general, if a company is growing its FCF, it will be able to pay down debt, buy back stock, pay out more in dividends and/or invest money back into the business to help boost growth. It’s one of our most important fundamental factors.
✗ Profit Margins: The profit margin of Equity LifeStyle Properties comes in at 19.05% today. And generally, the higher, the better. We also like to see this margin above that of its competitors. Equity LifeStyle Properties’ profit margin is below the REIT average of 52.43%. So that’s a negative indicator for investors.
✓ Return on Equity: Return on equity tells us how much profit a company produces with the money shareholders invest. The ROE for Equity LifeStyle Properties is 19.81%, and that’s above its industry average ROE of 9.47%.
Equity LifeStyle Properties stock passes two of our six key metrics today. That’s why our Investment U Stock Grader rates it as a Hold With Caution.
Please note that our fundamental factor checklist is just the first step in performing your own due diligence. There are many other factors you should consider before investing. That’s why The Oxford Club offers more than a dozen newsletters and trading advisories all aimed at helping investors grow and maintain their wealth.
If you’re interested in finding Strong Buy stocks yourself, check out 3 Powerful Technical Indicators for Smarter Investing. We’ll show you how to eliminate emotional bias from your trading process with three powerful technical tools you can start using to boost your trading profits immediately. Click here to learn more. …read more
Source:: Investment You
The post Buy or Sell Equity LifeStyle Properties Stock Before Earnings? appeared first on Junior Mining Analyst.