Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

Key Points

• Mesirow Financial Investment Management increased its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 100.3% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 6,347 shares worth approximately $845,000.
• Equity Lifestyle Properties reported $0.69 earnings per share for the last quarter, meeting analysts' expectations, but had a revenue decline of 0.8% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.515 per share, reflecting a yield of 3.4% and a payout ratio of 106.74%.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS - Free Report) by 100.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,676 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 6,347 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties were worth $845,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ELS. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $423,479,000 after acquiring an additional 278,193 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $774,000 after acquiring an additional 1,162 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 635 shares during the last quarter. Dupont Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $9,672,000 after acquiring an additional 36,655 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $9,689,000 after acquiring an additional 4,450 shares during the last quarter. 97.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Lifestyle Properties

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

Equity Lifestyle Properties Stock Performance

Shares of ELS stock traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $60.29. The stock had a trading volume of 2,200,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,759,561. Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.15 and a fifty-two week high of $76.60. The firm has a market cap of $11.68 billion, a PE ratio of 31.24, a PEG ratio of 3.20 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 0.03. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $62.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.48.

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 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69. The firm had revenue of $313.29 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.59 million. Equity Lifestyle Properties had a net margin of 24.13% and a return on equity of 21.12%. The firm's revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 26th. Equity Lifestyle Properties's payout ratio is currently 106.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ELS shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. They set a "positive" rating and a $67.50 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays upgraded shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $67.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.50.

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.