Vert Asset Management LLC Acquires 7,092 Shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

Vert Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,516 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,092 shares during the quarter. Equity LifeStyle Properties comprises approximately 1.8% of Vert Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Vert Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties were worth $5,296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 23.7% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 12,835 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $916,000 after acquiring an additional 2,458 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,649,670 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $331,707,000 after purchasing an additional 39,864 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 213,209 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $15,210,000 after purchasing an additional 30,489 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 21,574 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,432,000 after buying an additional 1,301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 95.3% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 32,578 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,311,000 after buying an additional 15,899 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Trading Up 3.1 %

NYSE:ELS opened at $69.33 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.03 and a quick ratio of 0.03. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $67.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.58. Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. has a one year low of $59.82 and a one year high of $76.60.

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last posted 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 return on equity of 24.10% and a net margin of 23.97%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. will post 2.92 EPS for the current year.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a $0.477 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $1.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Equity LifeStyle Properties’s payout ratio is currently 98.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ELS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $66.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $72.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Compass Point upped their target price on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.20.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Company 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.