Unigestion Holding SA Acquires Shares of 7,400 Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

Unigestion Holding SA bought a new position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $493,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in Equity LifeStyle Properties in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $559,000. Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its holdings in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 48.2% in the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 5,841 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $417,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 228.8% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,519 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 130.4% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 61,390 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,380,000 after purchasing an additional 34,741 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 267.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 232,698 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $16,601,000 after purchasing an additional 169,445 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ELS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on 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. Evercore ISI decreased 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $72.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Truist Financial raised Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equity LifeStyle Properties currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.20.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Stock Performance

NYSE ELS opened at $65.94 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $12.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.82, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $59.82 and a 12-month high of $76.60.

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. This is a boost from Equity LifeStyle Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Equity LifeStyle Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.