Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. $ELS

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,621,879 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 104,159 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.84% of Equity Lifestyle Properties worth $98,302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,477,480 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,544,190,000 after purchasing an additional 592,013 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 10,614,040 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $643,331,000 after purchasing an additional 2,246,622 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 32.5% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,823,626 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $414,194,000 after purchasing an additional 1,674,281 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,712,562 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $285,048,000 after purchasing an additional 100,364 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,656,490 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $221,619,000 after purchasing an additional 509,442 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ELS. Wall Street Zen upgraded Equity Lifestyle Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Zelman & Associates started coverage on Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research report on Monday, March 16th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $59.25 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Equity Lifestyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Equity Lifestyle Properties from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.20.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Price Performance

Shares of ELS opened at $64.80 on Friday. Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.15 and a twelve month high of $69.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $63.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.57 billion, a PE ratio of 32.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.28). The business had revenue of $397.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $395.71 million. Equity Lifestyle Properties had a net margin of 24.99% and a return on equity of 21.22%. Equity Lifestyle Properties’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. Research analysts anticipate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.5425 per share. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. Equity Lifestyle Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 108.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Lifestyle Properties

In other Equity Lifestyle Properties news, Director David J. Contis sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.22, for a total transaction of $201,660.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 14,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,000,905.80. This represents a 16.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.