William Blair Investment Management LLC Lowers Position in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

William Blair Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 572,281 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,068 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties were worth $38,114,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ELS. National Pension Service purchased a new position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 43.5% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 564 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 68.2% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 898 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of ELS opened at $68.30 on Tuesday. Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $59.82 and a 52-week high of $76.60. The company has a market capitalization of $13.05 billion, a PE ratio of 35.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) 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 forecast that Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is an increase from Equity LifeStyle Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. Equity LifeStyle Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ELS shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $69.00 to $68.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Truist Financial raised Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $72.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on 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. Three investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.78.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Profile

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.