Norges Bank Makes New $163.21 Million Investment in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 2,450,627 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $163,212,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ELS. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 43.5% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 564 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,533 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 22,861 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,523,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,446 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $762,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. 97.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties stock opened at $66.70 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $66.97 and a 200 day moving average of $68.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.03 and a current ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.21, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79. Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.82 and a fifty-two week high of $76.60.

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 predict that Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.515 dividend. This is a positive change from Equity LifeStyle Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Equity LifeStyle Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ELS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $69.00 to $68.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.