Intech Investment Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,241 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties were worth $948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 43.5% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 564 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Carmel Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,533 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 22,861 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,523,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,446 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $762,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 14.7% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 2,093 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $149,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ELS shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of 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 report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.78.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Stock Performance

Shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties stock opened at $68.47 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.11, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79. Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $59.82 and a 12 month high of $76.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.02 and a quick ratio of 0.03.

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76. Equity LifeStyle Properties had a net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 23.12%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. This is a boost from Equity LifeStyle Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Equity LifeStyle Properties’s payout ratio is presently 105.64%.

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.