The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Lowers Holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its holdings in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 156,686 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 8,335 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.08% of Equity LifeStyle Properties worth $10,435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Pension Service acquired a new stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. 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 acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 43.5% during 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ELS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Equity LifeStyle Properties in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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 on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Equity LifeStyle Properties currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.33.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Price Performance

Shares of ELS opened at $65.68 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.68, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.76. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $66.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.36. Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.86 and a twelve month high of $76.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83. The company had revenue of $327.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 period last year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. Equity LifeStyle Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.74%.

About Equity LifeStyle Properties

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.

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