Royal Bank of Canada Buys 21,731 Shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS - Free Report) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 542,857 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 21,731 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.28% of Equity LifeStyle Properties worth $36,154,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ELS. National Pension Service acquired a new position in Equity LifeStyle Properties during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 121.4% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 383 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Equity LifeStyle Properties during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 564 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 68.2% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 898 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 364 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.21% of the company's stock.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Stock Performance

Equity LifeStyle Properties stock traded down $0.81 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $63.53. 346,223 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,299,742. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.15 billion, a PE ratio of 32.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.02 and a quick ratio of 0.03. The business's 50-day moving average is $64.68 and its 200-day moving average is $66.71. Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.86 and a 12-month high of $76.60.

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.83. The company had revenue of $327.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $391.34 million. Equity LifeStyle Properties had a return on equity of 23.12% and a net margin of 24.05%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Equity LifeStyle Properties's payout ratio is currently 106.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Paul Seavey sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.72, for a total value of $647,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 78,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,058,644.64. The trade was a 11.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ELS shares. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target 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. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $72.00 to $71.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.33.

Equity LifeStyle Properties 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.