Short Interest in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) Declines By 18.2%

Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,140,000 shares, a decrease of 18.2% from the March 15th total of 3,840,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,570,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Approximately 1.7% of the company's stock are short sold.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Stock Performance

Shares of ELS stock traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $63.11. 1,196,720 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,301,037. 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's 50 day moving average is $66.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.53. The company has a market cap of $12.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.72. Equity LifeStyle Properties has a 1 year low of $58.86 and a 1 year high of $76.60.

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

Equity LifeStyle Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. This is an increase from Equity LifeStyle Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. Equity LifeStyle Properties's dividend payout ratio is 106.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on ELS shares. 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 for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Equity LifeStyle Properties from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $66.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial upgraded Equity LifeStyle Properties from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equity LifeStyle Properties currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.10.

Institutional Trading of Equity LifeStyle Properties

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELS. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,053,845 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,668,586,000 after purchasing an additional 388,888 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 172.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,070,817 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $404,319,000 after buying an additional 3,838,809 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,761,879 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $339,713,000 after buying an additional 147,332 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of 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 worth $260,955,000 after buying an additional 3,352,584 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,887,371 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $258,536,000 after acquiring an additional 53,775 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.21% of the company's stock.

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.