19,515 Shares in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) Purchased by Savvy Advisors Inc.

Savvy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 19,515 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,300,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ELS. National Pension Service acquired a new position in Equity LifeStyle Properties in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 121.4% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 383 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, 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 valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:ELS opened at $64.31 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $66.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.85. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.86 and a 12-month high of $76.60. The firm has a market cap of $12.29 billion, a PE ratio of 32.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Equity LifeStyle Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th were issued a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. This is a positive change from Equity LifeStyle Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. Equity LifeStyle Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on ELS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $78.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $69.00 to $68.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Equity LifeStyle Properties has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.20.

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.