Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Cuts Stock Position in Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. $ELS

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden sharply reduced its Equity Lifestyle Properties stake by 95.4% in the first quarter, selling 68,700 shares and leaving it with 3,339 shares worth about $208,000.
• Other institutional investors were active in the stock, with firms like Price T Rowe, Daiwa Securities, and Cohen & Steers significantly increasing holdings; 97.21% of ELS shares are owned by hedge funds and institutions.
• Equity Lifestyle Properties reported quarterly EPS of $0.56, missing estimates, while revenue came in slightly above expectations; the company also declared a $0.5425 quarterly dividend payable July 10, implying a 3.3% annual yield.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund cut its stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS - Free Report) by 95.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,339 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 68,700 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties were worth $208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 303.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,948,613 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $966,648,000 after buying an additional 11,999,874 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 253.7% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,147,048 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $191,025,000 after acquiring an additional 2,257,299 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 10,614,040 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $643,331,000 after acquiring an additional 2,246,622 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties during the fourth quarter worth about $125,352,000. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 1,520.4% during the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,771,803 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $109,267,000 after purchasing an additional 1,662,458 shares in the last quarter. 97.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ELS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Equity Lifestyle Properties from $70.00 to $69.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Equity Lifestyle Properties from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $72.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays reduced their price target on Equity Lifestyle Properties from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Equity Lifestyle Properties from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Zelman & Associates began coverage on Equity Lifestyle Properties in a report on Monday, March 16th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $59.25 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.20.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Stock Down 1.9%

ELS stock opened at $64.99 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company's 50-day moving average price is $63.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.84. Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.15 and a 52 week high of $69.00. The company has a market cap of $12.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.50, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.66.

Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.28). The company had revenue of $397.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $395.71 million. Equity Lifestyle Properties had a net margin of 24.99% and a return on equity of 21.22%. Equity Lifestyle Properties's revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.57 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be given a $0.5425 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Equity Lifestyle Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 108.50%.

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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