Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Buys 24,041 Shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP increased its stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS - Free Report) by 127.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,928 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 24,041 shares during the quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP's holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties were worth $2,859,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ELS. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 172.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,070,817 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $404,319,000 after acquiring an additional 3,838,809 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 592.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,918,241 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $260,955,000 after acquiring an additional 3,352,584 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties during the fourth quarter valued at $163,212,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 43.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,434,858 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $162,162,000 after purchasing an additional 735,580 shares during the period. Finally, Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC bought a new position in Equity LifeStyle Properties in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,391,000. 97.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:ELS traded up $0.60 on Friday, hitting $64.33. 942,489 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,308,538. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.76. 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 52 week low of $58.86 and a 52 week high of $76.60. The company's 50-day moving average price is $65.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.19.

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.83. The firm had revenue of $327.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.34 million. Equity LifeStyle Properties had a return on equity of 23.12% and a net margin of 24.05%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. Equity LifeStyle Properties's payout ratio is presently 106.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Paul Seavey sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.72, for a total transaction of $647,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 78,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,058,644.64. This trade represents a 11.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ELS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Equity LifeStyle Properties from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $66.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on 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. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equity LifeStyle Properties presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.33.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Company 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.