Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) vs. Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) Head-To-Head Survey

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) and Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, dividends and earnings.

Dividends

Equity LifeStyle Properties pays an annual dividend of $1.91 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Ares Commercial Real Estate pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 13.7%. Equity LifeStyle Properties pays out 104.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Ares Commercial Real Estate pays out -120.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Equity LifeStyle Properties has raised its dividend for 20 consecutive years. Ares Commercial Real Estate is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Risk & Volatility

Equity LifeStyle Properties has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ares Commercial Real Estate has a beta of 1.46, indicating that its stock price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Equity LifeStyle Properties and Ares Commercial Real Estate, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Equity LifeStyle Properties	0	6	2	0	2.25
Ares Commercial Real Estate	1	6	0	0	1.86

Equity LifeStyle Properties presently has a consensus price target of $68.85, indicating a potential upside of 3.25%. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a consensus price target of $8.42, indicating a potential upside of 15.45%. Given Ares Commercial Real Estate’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Ares Commercial Real Estate is more favorable than Equity LifeStyle Properties.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Equity LifeStyle Properties and Ares Commercial Real Estate’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Equity LifeStyle Properties	$1.49 billion	8.35	$314.21 million	$1.83	36.44
Ares Commercial Real Estate	$88.96 million	4.47	-$38.87 million	($0.83)	-8.78

Equity LifeStyle Properties has higher revenue and earnings than Ares Commercial Real Estate. Ares Commercial Real Estate 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.

Profitability

This table compares Equity LifeStyle Properties and Ares Commercial Real Estate’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Equity LifeStyle Properties	22.69%	22.71%	6.09%
Ares Commercial Real Estate	-54.60%	0.84%	0.24%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

97.2% of Equity LifeStyle Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 41.3% of Ares Commercial Real Estate shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Equity LifeStyle Properties shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of Ares Commercial Real Estate shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Equity LifeStyle Properties beats Ares Commercial Real Estate on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Equity LifeStyle Properties

We are a self-administered, self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) with headquarters in Chicago. As of January 29, 2024, we own or have an interest in 451 properties in 35 states and British Columbia consisting of 172,465 sites.

About Ares Commercial Real Estate

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation, a specialty finance company, originates and invests in commercial real estate (CRE) loans and related investments in the United States. It provides a range of financing solutions for the owners, operators, and sponsors of CRE properties. The company originates senior mortgage loans, subordinate debt and preferred equity products, mezzanine loans, and other CRE investments, including commercial mortgage-backed securities. It has elected and qualified to be taxed as a real estate investment trust for the United States federal income tax purposes under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation was incorporated in 2011 and is based in New York, New York.