American Assets Investment Management LLC Takes Position in Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

Key Points

• American Assets Investment Management LLC acquired 41,921 shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) for approximately $2.8 million during the first quarter.
• The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the last quarter, meeting the consensus estimate, while revenue decreased by 0.8% year-over-year to $313.29 million.
• Equity Lifestyle Properties announced a quarterly dividend of $0.515 to be paid on October 10th, representing a yield of 3.4% and indicating a dividend payout ratio of 106.74%.

American Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 41,921 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $2,796,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ELS. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 121.4% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 383 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 78.7% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,442 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 635 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 351.6% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,865 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $124,000 after acquiring an additional 1,452 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 137.5% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,133 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 1,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties during the first quarter valued at $200,000. 97.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of ELS traded down $0.71 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $61.35. The company had a trading volume of 3,258,081 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,962,878. The company has a market capitalization of $11.89 billion, a PE ratio of 31.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. has a one year low of $58.15 and a one year high of $76.60. The company's fifty day moving average price is $61.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.40.

Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 company had revenue of $313.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.59 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 26th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 3.4%. Equity Lifestyle Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 106.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Equity Lifestyle Properties from $82.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays raised Equity Lifestyle Properties from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $70.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Equity Lifestyle Properties in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. They issued a "positive" rating and a $67.50 target price for the company. Finally, Truist Financial set a $68.00 price objective on Equity Lifestyle Properties and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Equity Lifestyle Properties currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.50.

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.