Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) Shares Acquired by Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.

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. boosted its stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS - Free Report) by 100.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,676 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 6,347 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties were worth $845,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ELS. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 121.4% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 383 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 78.7% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,442 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 635 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 351.6% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,865 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $124,000 after buying an additional 1,452 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 137.5% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,133 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 1,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in the first quarter worth about $200,000. 97.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Equity Lifestyle Properties

In other Equity Lifestyle Properties news, CFO Paul Seavey sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were 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 directly owned 78,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,058,644.64. This trade represents a 11.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Price Performance

Shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties stock traded up $1.16 on Monday, hitting $61.42. 609,217 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,510,434. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $62.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.47. Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.15 and a 1-year high of $76.60.

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

Equity Lifestyle Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Friday, September 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 26th. Equity Lifestyle Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 106.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on ELS. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. They issued a "positive" rating and a $67.50 target price on the stock. Compass Point upgraded Equity Lifestyle Properties from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $72.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Equity Lifestyle Properties from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus 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.