Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 509,442 Shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. $ELS

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) by 16.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,656,490 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 509,442 shares during the period. Equity Lifestyle Properties comprises approximately 0.7% of Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties were worth $221,619,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,477,480 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,544,190,000 after acquiring an additional 592,013 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,823,626 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $414,194,000 after acquiring an additional 1,674,281 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,712,562 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $285,048,000 after acquiring an additional 100,364 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,902,967 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $176,227,000 after acquiring an additional 60,852 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,746,011 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $166,675,000 after acquiring an additional 70,725 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Lifestyle Properties

In other news, Director David J. Contis sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 14,890 shares in the company, valued at $1,000,905.80. This represents a 16.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE ELS opened at $61.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a current ratio of 0.04. Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.15 and a 52-week high of $69.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $63.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.57. The stock has a market cap of $11.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.67.

Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.28). Equity Lifestyle Properties had a net margin of 24.99% and a return on equity of 21.22%. The business had revenue of $397.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $395.71 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ELS shares. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Zelman & Associates started coverage on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a report on Monday, March 16th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $59.25 price target for the company. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.20.

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.