Easterly Investment Partners LLC Sells 152,877 Shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. $ELS

Key Points

• Easterly Investment Partners sharply reduced its stake in Equity Lifestyle Properties, selling 152,877 shares in the fourth quarter and cutting its holding by 82.8% to 31,769 shares worth about $1.93 million.
• Equity Lifestyle Properties recently missed earnings expectations, reporting $0.56 EPS versus the $0.84 estimate, though revenue of $397.6 million slightly beat forecasts and rose 2.7% year over year.
• The REIT announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5425 per share, equal to a 3.6% annualized yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $69.20.

Easterly Investment Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS - Free Report) by 82.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,769 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 152,877 shares during the quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties were worth $1,926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ELS. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 14.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,516 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $435,000 after buying an additional 804 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 598.5% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 119,397 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $7,964,000 after purchasing an additional 102,303 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 62.3% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 23,114 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 8,873 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 111.0% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 10,122 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $624,000 after purchasing an additional 5,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in Equity Lifestyle Properties in the second quarter worth about $300,000. 97.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Stock Performance

NYSE:ELS opened at $60.83 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.04 and a quick ratio of 0.04. Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.15 and a 1 year high of $69.00. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $63.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.58. The company has a market cap of $11.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.42, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.69.

Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.28). Equity Lifestyle Properties had a return on equity of 21.22% and a net margin of 24.99%.The company had revenue of $397.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $395.71 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. Equity Lifestyle Properties's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.18 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, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be paid a $0.5425 dividend. This represents a $2.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. Equity Lifestyle Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 108.50%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David J. Contis sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.22, for a total transaction of $201,660.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 14,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,000,905.80. This trade represents a 16.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Equity Lifestyle Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. Zacks Research raised Equity Lifestyle Properties from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Equity Lifestyle Properties from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $72.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Bank of America raised Equity Lifestyle Properties from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $76.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Equity Lifestyle Properties from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.20.

About Equity Lifestyle Properties

Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc NYSE: ELS is a publicly traded real estate investment trust specializing in the acquisition, development, ownership and operation of manufactured home communities and recreational vehicle resorts. The company's portfolio includes more than 450 properties across the United States and Canada, serving over 200,000 residents and visitors. ELS organizes its operations into two primary segments: manufactured housing communities, which provide long-term housing solutions, and upscale RV and seasonal resorts designed for leisure travelers and seasonal patrons.

In its manufactured home division, ELS offers home-site leases combined with community amenities such as landscaped common areas, clubhouses, swimming pools and organized resident events.

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