Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,470,000 shares, a growth of 7.1% from the February 29th total of 3,240,000 shares. Currently, 2.0% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,130,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity LifeStyle Properties

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,211 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $714,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 59,874 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,224,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC raised its holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC now owns 7,195 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 68,409 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,358,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 3,920 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. 97.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Stock Performance

ELS traded down $0.12 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $63.16. The stock had a trading volume of 1,155,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,183,544. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $66.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.43. The firm has a market cap of $11.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.69. Equity LifeStyle Properties has a one year low of $60.47 and a one year high of $74.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.03 and a quick ratio of 0.03.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a $0.477 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This is an increase from Equity LifeStyle Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.91 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. Equity LifeStyle Properties's payout ratio is 113.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on ELS shares. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $73.00 to $72.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Equity LifeStyle Properties in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a "hold" rating and a $64.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research raised Equity LifeStyle Properties from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equity LifeStyle Properties currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $70.15.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Company Profile

We are a self-administered, self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) with headquarters in Chicago. As of January 29, 2024, we own or have an interest in 451 properties in 35 states and British Columbia consisting of 172,465 sites.