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. valued at approximately $2.8 million, making it the firm's 27th largest holding.
• Institutional investors collectively own 97.21% of Equity Lifestyle Properties' stock, reflecting significant support from large financial entities.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.515 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 3.51% and a payout ratio of 106.74%.

American Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 41,921 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $2,796,000. Equity Lifestyle Properties accounts for approximately 1.2% of American Assets Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 278,193 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 15.1% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,330,066 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $355,515,000 after buying an additional 699,877 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 592.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,918,241 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $260,955,000 after buying an additional 3,352,584 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,887,371 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $258,536,000 after purchasing an additional 53,775 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,201,077 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $213,192,000 after buying an additional 23,837 shares in the last quarter. 97.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Equity Lifestyle Properties

In other news, CFO Paul Seavey sold 10,000 shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.72, for a total transaction of $647,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 78,162 shares in the company, valued at $5,058,644.64. The trade was a 11.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ELS shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. They set a "positive" rating and a $67.50 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Equity Lifestyle Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Equity Lifestyle Properties from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays raised Equity Lifestyle Properties from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.50.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of ELS traded up $0.97 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $61.23. The stock had a trading volume of 1,107,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,513,988. Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.15 and a 12 month high of $76.60. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market capitalization of $11.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Equity Lifestyle Properties Announces Dividend

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

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.