Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. $ELS Shares Bought by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) by 9.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 560,685 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 47,608 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.29% of Equity Lifestyle Properties worth $34,997,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 14.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,516 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $435,000 after purchasing an additional 804 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 598.5% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 119,397 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,964,000 after buying an additional 102,303 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 62.3% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 23,114 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,542,000 after buying an additional 8,873 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 111.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 10,122 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $624,000 after buying an additional 5,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties during the second quarter valued at about $300,000. 97.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Stock Performance

Equity Lifestyle Properties stock opened at $65.72 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.02 and a quick ratio of 0.02. Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.72 and a 12 month high of $69.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $64.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.44. The company has a market cap of $12.75 billion, a PE ratio of 31.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.64.

Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by ($0.22). Equity Lifestyle Properties had a return on equity of 22.31% and a net margin of 25.92%.The business had revenue of $397.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $383.66 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Friday, September 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.5425 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 25th. This represents a $2.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Equity Lifestyle Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 104.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ELS. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Equity Lifestyle Properties from $70.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Equity Lifestyle Properties from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.70.

About Equity Lifestyle Properties

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.