Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) Shares Sold by PGGM Investments

PGGM Investments decreased its holdings in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,919,290 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,742 shares during the quarter. Equity LifeStyle Properties comprises 1.7% of PGGM Investments’ holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. PGGM Investments owned approximately 1.00% of Equity LifeStyle Properties worth $127,825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELS. Fore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties during the 4th quarter worth about $1,332,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Equity LifeStyle Properties during the fourth quarter worth about $774,000. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,446 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $762,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 51.5% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 113,007 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,526,000 after acquiring an additional 38,401 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties in the 4th quarter worth approximately $659,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ELS opened at $66.81 on Thursday. Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.82 and a fifty-two week high of $76.60. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $66.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $12.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Equity LifeStyle Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.515 per share. This is a boost from Equity LifeStyle Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Equity LifeStyle Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ELS. Truist Financial raised Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada cut 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 research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $72.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.78.

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.