Convergence Investment Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 6,135 Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,135 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $409,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,446 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $762,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 22,861 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,523,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 63.6% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 16,800 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,119,000 after acquiring an additional 6,531 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,074,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 199.3% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 52,547 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,500,000 after acquiring an additional 34,993 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on ELS. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Equity Lifestyle Properties from $82.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays began coverage on Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Equity Lifestyle Properties from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. They set a "positive" rating and a $67.50 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.05.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Trading Down 0.6%

ELS traded down $0.35 on Friday, hitting $59.56. 1,382,290 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,557,172. Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.86 and a 12 month high of $76.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.03 and a current ratio of 0.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.39 billion, a PE ratio of 30.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.72.

Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.69 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $377.59 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. The business's revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were issued a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. Equity Lifestyle Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 106.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Paul Seavey sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.72, for a total value of $647,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 78,162 shares in the company, valued at $5,058,644.64. This trade represents a 11.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Equity Lifestyle Properties 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.