Legal & General Group Plc Raises Stock Position in Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. $ELS

Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) by 13.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,365,902 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 161,210 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties were worth $82,787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC increased its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 43,367 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,628,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 3.7% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,948 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 1.6% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 14,229 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $864,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. M&G PLC increased its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 8.2% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 3,293 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 27.4% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,250 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on ELS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Truist Financial set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $76.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.27.

Insider Activity at Equity Lifestyle Properties

In other news, Director David J. Contis sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.22, for a total transaction of $201,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 14,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,000,905.80. The trade was a 16.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Stock Down 0.7%

ELS stock opened at $61.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.15 and a 52 week high of $69.00.

Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.28). The company had revenue of $397.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $395.71 million. Equity Lifestyle Properties had a return on equity of 21.22% and a net margin of 24.99%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.5425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Equity Lifestyle Properties’s payout ratio is currently 108.50%.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Company Profile

Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc (NYSE: ELS) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust specializing in the acquisition, development, ownership and operation of manufactured home communities and recreational vehicle resorts. The company’s portfolio includes more than 450 properties across the United States and Canada, serving over 200,000 residents and visitors. ELS organizes its operations into two primary segments: manufactured housing communities, which provide long-term housing solutions, and upscale RV and seasonal resorts designed for leisure travelers and seasonal patrons.

In its manufactured home division, ELS offers home-site leases combined with community amenities such as landscaped common areas, clubhouses, swimming pools and organized resident events.