Sterling Capital Management LLC Increases Holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS - Free Report) by 59.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,216 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 4,192 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties were worth $747,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELS. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 43.5% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 564 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 121.4% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 383 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Carmel Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,533 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $435,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 22,861 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,523,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.21% of the company's stock.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of ELS traded down $0.66 on Tuesday, hitting $63.77. 2,244,568 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,297,758. Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. has a one year low of $58.86 and a one year high of $76.60. The company has a market capitalization of $12.19 billion, a PE ratio of 32.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.03 and a current ratio of 0.02.

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

Equity LifeStyle Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 28th. This is an increase from Equity LifeStyle Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Equity LifeStyle Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ELS shares. Truist Financial raised Equity LifeStyle Properties from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Equity LifeStyle Properties from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased 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 research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.10.

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.