Stephens Inc. AR Decreases Stock Position in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

Stephens Inc. AR decreased its holdings in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,102 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 269 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties were worth $207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. CWM LLC increased its stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 26.3% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,367 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 37.3% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,715 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 1,824 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 55,197 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,938,000 after acquiring an additional 1,363 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 613 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 106.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,292 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties stock opened at $65.47 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.03 and a current ratio of 0.02. Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.82 and a fifty-two week high of $76.60. The company has a market cap of $12.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.79.

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 earnings per share 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, equities analysts predict that Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. This is a boost from Equity LifeStyle Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Equity LifeStyle Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Compass Point lifted their price objective on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI reduced 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $69.00 to $68.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.78.

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.