Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Acquires Shares of 3,340 Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. bought a new position in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 3,340 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. National Pension Service bought a new stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in Equity LifeStyle Properties during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 564 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 68.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 898 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the period. 97.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ELS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on 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. Truist Financial raised Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.78.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties stock opened at $66.39 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $66.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $59.82 and a 12-month high of $76.60. The company has a market cap of $12.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.04, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79.

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.76. Equity LifeStyle Properties had a net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 23.12%. On average, equities analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. This is a boost from Equity LifeStyle Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is 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.