Qtron Investments LLC Invests $359,000 in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

Qtron Investments LLC bought a new stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,395 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $359,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELS. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 59.7% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 11,216 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $747,000 after buying an additional 4,192 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 93,448 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $6,224,000 after purchasing an additional 6,950 shares in the last quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties during the 4th quarter worth about $4,911,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,762,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ELS shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised Equity LifeStyle Properties from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $78.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $69.00 to $68.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.20.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Price Performance

ELS traded up $0.40 during trading on Friday, reaching $65.32. 1,430,162 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,294,852. 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 company has a market capitalization of $12.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.72. Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.86 and a 1 year high of $76.60. The business's 50 day moving average price is $66.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.71.

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.76. Equity LifeStyle Properties had a net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 23.12%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.515 per share. This is an increase from Equity LifeStyle Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 28th. Equity LifeStyle Properties's payout ratio is currently 105.64%.

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.