Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 5,175 Shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

Bank of Nova Scotia cut its holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS - Free Report) by 42.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,882 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 5,175 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties were worth $458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 8,202 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $585,000 after acquiring an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 31.4% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,296 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,591,000 after purchasing an additional 5,322 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 95.3% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 32,578 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,311,000 after purchasing an additional 15,899 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties in the third quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Finally, Destination Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties in the third quarter worth $262,000. 97.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ELS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Equity LifeStyle Properties from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $78.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.20.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Price Performance

Shares of ELS traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $65.32. The company had a trading volume of 1,430,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,294,852. The company's 50-day moving average is $66.51 and its 200-day moving average is $67.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.02 and a quick ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $12.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.72. Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.86 and a twelve month high of $76.60.

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.76. Equity LifeStyle Properties had a net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 23.12%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. This is a positive change from Equity LifeStyle Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Equity LifeStyle Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.