VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Reduces Holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. $ELS

Key Points

• VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al cut its stake in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 32,200 shares and leaving it with 310,366 shares valued at about $18.8 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding 97.21% of the company’s stock. Several large funds increased their positions significantly during recent quarters.
• Wall Street sentiment is generally positive, with analysts assigning an average Moderate Buy rating and a $69.27 average price target, though the company recently reported quarterly EPS of $0.56, missing expectations of $0.84.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al decreased its position in Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS - Free Report) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 310,366 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 32,200 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned 0.16% of Equity Lifestyle Properties worth $18,811,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ELS. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 114.5% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,375,154 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $326,272,000 after buying an additional 2,868,678 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 253.7% in the 3rd 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 buying an additional 2,257,299 shares during the period. Centersquare Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 2,448.8% in the 3rd quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 1,963,378 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $119,177,000 after buying an additional 1,886,348 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,823,626 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $414,194,000 after buying an additional 1,674,281 shares during the period. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 1,520.4% in the 2nd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,771,803 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $109,267,000 after buying an additional 1,662,458 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ELS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $72.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Zacks Research raised shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America raised shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $76.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.27.

Insider Transactions at Equity Lifestyle Properties

In other Equity Lifestyle Properties news, Director David J. Contis sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.22, for a total transaction of $201,660.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 14,890 shares in the company, valued at $1,000,905.80. This represents a 16.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Stock Performance

NYSE:ELS opened at $63.10 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a current ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.55, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $64.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.47. Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.15 and a fifty-two week high of $69.00.

Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.56 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $395.71 million. Equity Lifestyle Properties had a return on equity of 21.22% and a net margin of 24.99%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.57 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.5425 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Equity Lifestyle Properties's dividend payout ratio is 108.50%.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Company Profile

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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