Pring Turner Capital Group Inc. Raises Stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

Pring Turner Capital Group Inc. lifted its stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,942 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,208 shares during the period. Equity LifeStyle Properties comprises about 3.1% of Pring Turner Capital Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Pring Turner Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties were worth $4,592,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 172.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,070,817 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $404,319,000 after purchasing an additional 3,838,809 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 370.6% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,329,431 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $166,182,000 after buying an additional 1,834,491 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 592.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,626,963 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $116,068,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391,846 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in Equity LifeStyle Properties in the third quarter worth about $54,866,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 14,049.2% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 713,971 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $50,935,000 after buying an additional 708,925 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Stock Performance

Shares of ELS stock opened at $66.96 on Tuesday. Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $59.82 and a 52-week high of $76.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $12.79 billion, a PE ratio of 34.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.21.

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76. Equity LifeStyle Properties had a return on equity of 23.12% and a net margin of 24.05%. On average, equities analysts expect that Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is an increase from Equity LifeStyle Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. Equity LifeStyle Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 105.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ELS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective 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. Evercore ISI cut their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $72.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.78.

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.