Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Purchases New Shares in Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired 303,736 shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. for approximately $20.26 million, increasing its stake to 0.16% of the company.
• Equity Lifestyle Properties announced a quarterly dividend of $0.515 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 3.4% and a payout ratio of 106.74%.
• Recent analyst ratings show mixed sentiment: one downgrade to "sell," while several upgrades maintain a majority "buy" rating, leading to an average target price of $71.50.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 303,736 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $20,259,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned about 0.16% of Equity Lifestyle Properties at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,349,010 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $423,479,000 after purchasing an additional 278,193 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,602 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 78.7% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,442 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares in the last quarter. Dupont Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 33.8% during the 1st quarter. Dupont Capital Management Corp now owns 145,004 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $9,672,000 after purchasing an additional 36,655 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 145,262 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $9,689,000 after purchasing an additional 4,450 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ELS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Equity Lifestyle Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Equity Lifestyle Properties from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Equity Lifestyle Properties from $82.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays raised Equity Lifestyle Properties from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $70.00 to $67.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Equity Lifestyle Properties in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. They issued a "positive" rating and a $67.50 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.50.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Trading Down 0.6%

ELS traded down $0.38 on Thursday, hitting $60.98. 167,631 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,535,380. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a current ratio of 0.04. Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.15 and a 12 month high of $76.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.82 billion, a PE ratio of 31.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.70.

Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.69. Equity Lifestyle Properties had a return on equity of 21.12% and a net margin of 24.13%. The business had revenue of $313.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.59 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. Equity Lifestyle Properties's revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Friday, September 26th will be paid a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 26th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Equity Lifestyle Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.74%.

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.