Sophron Capital Management L.P. Makes New $3.01 Million Investment in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

Sophron Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 45,191 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $3,010,000. Equity LifeStyle Properties comprises about 1.2% of Sophron Capital Management L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 185,168 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $12,332,000 after purchasing an additional 14,642 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 256.1% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 158,947 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $10,586,000 after purchasing an additional 114,311 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,918,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 118,487 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $7,891,000 after purchasing an additional 6,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,335,000. 97.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity LifeStyle Properties

In other Equity LifeStyle Properties news, CFO Paul Seavey sold 10,000 shares of the company'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 transaction of $647,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 78,162 shares in the company, valued at $5,058,644.64. This represents a 11.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Stock Up 0.2%

ELS traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $63.53. 809,465 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,300,367. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $64.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.82. The company has a market cap of $12.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.58, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.76. Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.86 and a fifty-two week high of $76.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.02 and a quick ratio of 0.03.

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

Equity LifeStyle Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. Equity LifeStyle Properties's payout ratio is 106.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $69.00 to $68.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $72.00 to $71.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $74.33.

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.