Capital Square LLC Increases Stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

Capital Square LLC boosted its position in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,248 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the period. Capital Square LLC’s holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties were worth $1,563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ELS. National Pension Service bought a new stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 121.4% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 383 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 43.5% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 564 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. 97.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ELS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $78.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.20.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:ELS opened at $64.89 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.40 billion, a PE ratio of 33.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.72. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.86 and a 52-week high of $76.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $66.53 and a 200 day moving average of $67.75.

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.76. Equity LifeStyle Properties had a return on equity of 23.12% and a net margin of 24.05%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th were issued a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. This is a positive change from Equity LifeStyle Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. Equity LifeStyle Properties’s payout ratio is presently 105.64%.

About Equity LifeStyle Properties

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.