Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) Shares Purchased by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,239 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 759 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties were worth $5,477,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 53,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,530,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Equity LifeStyle Properties during the fourth quarter worth $380,000. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 185.8% in the 4th quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 24,882 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,657,000 after purchasing an additional 16,176 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 59,693 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,976,000 after purchasing an additional 4,496 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 573,410 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,189,000 after purchasing an additional 27,115 shares during the last quarter. 97.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ELS opened at $65.23 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.45, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.79. Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. has a one year low of $59.82 and a one year high of $76.60. The company’s fifty day moving average is $66.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.03 and a current ratio of 0.02.

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.76. Equity LifeStyle Properties had a net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 23.12%. Analysts forecast that Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.515 dividend. This is a boost from Equity LifeStyle Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. Equity LifeStyle Properties’s payout ratio is 97.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on ELS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Truist Financial upgraded Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $69.00 to $68.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Compass Point boosted their target price on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $72.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.