William Blair Investment Management LLC Lowers Position in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

William Blair Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 572,281 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,068 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.30% of Equity LifeStyle Properties worth $38,114,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELS. National Pension Service bought a new position in Equity LifeStyle Properties in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Equity LifeStyle Properties in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in Equity LifeStyle Properties in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 43.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 68.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 898 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. 97.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ELS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of 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. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $69.00 to $68.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.78.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ELS opened at $68.30 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $66.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.90. The firm has a market cap of $13.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79. 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.

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 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, sell-side analysts expect that Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. This is a positive change from Equity LifeStyle Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Equity LifeStyle Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.