Equity LifeStyle Properties Increases Sales but Misses Estimates on Earnings

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYS: ELS) reported earnings on Jan. 24. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Equity LifeStyle Properties beat expectations on revenues and missed expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue increased significantly and earnings per share shrank to zero.

Gross margins grew, operating margins dropped, and net margins contracted.

Revenue details
Equity LifeStyle Properties logged revenue of $159 million. The four analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected a top line of $143 million. Sales were 33% higher than the prior-year quarter's $121 million.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0. The three earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.06 per share. GAAP EPS were $0 for Q4 versus $0.21 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Figures may be non-GAAP to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 53.4%, 360 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 21.5%, 730 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -0.1%, 490 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $153 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.51.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $606 million. The average EPS estimate is $1.42.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a one-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 23 members out of 95 rating the stock outperform, and 72 members rating it underperform. Among 40 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), eight give Equity LifeStyle Properties a green thumbs-up, and 32 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Equity LifeStyle Properties is outperform, with an average price target of $70.40.

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At the time thisarticle was published Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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