ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Makes New Investment in Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. has acquired a new stake of 5,387 shares in Equity Lifestyle Properties, valued at approximately $359,000, during the 1st quarter.
• Several large investors, including LPL Financial LLC and Wells Fargo & Company, have significantly increased their stakes in Equity Lifestyle Properties during the 4th quarter.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.515, representing an annualized dividend of $2.06 and a yield of 3.4%.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new stake in Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,387 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $359,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,349,010 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $423,479,000 after buying an additional 278,193 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,602 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $774,000 after buying an additional 1,162 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 78.7% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,442 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 635 shares during the period. Dupont Capital Management Corp grew its position in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 33.8% in the 1st quarter. Dupont Capital Management Corp now owns 145,004 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $9,672,000 after acquiring an additional 36,655 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 145,262 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $9,689,000 after acquiring an additional 4,450 shares in the last quarter. 97.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties stock traded down $0.56 on Thursday, reaching $60.37. 950,012 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,537,635. Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.15 and a 1-year high of $76.60. The company has a market cap of $11.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.04 and a quick ratio of 0.04. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $61.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.18.

Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $313.29 million during 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%. The firm's revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.515 per share. 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on ELS. Barclays raised Equity Lifestyle Properties from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $70.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Equity Lifestyle Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Equity Lifestyle Properties from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Compass Point raised Equity Lifestyle Properties from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $72.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Equity Lifestyle Properties from $82.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Equity Lifestyle Properties currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.