Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. $ELS Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC lowered its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 706,100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 58,060 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 0.36% of Equity Lifestyle Properties worth $42,797,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fermata Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 471.9% in the fourth quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 33,933 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,057,000 after purchasing an additional 28,000 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 337,948 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $20,206,000 after purchasing an additional 34,946 shares in the last quarter. Argosy Lionbridge Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,703,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 1,104.7% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 673,072 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,794,000 after purchasing an additional 617,202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 10.8% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 586,269 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,587,000 after purchasing an additional 56,913 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ELS shares. Zelman & Associates started coverage on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a report on Monday, March 16th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $59.25 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Lifestyle Properties presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.20.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Trading Up 2.9%

NYSE ELS opened at $63.27 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.15 and a 52 week high of $69.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.27 billion, a PE ratio of 31.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $63.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.59.

Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.28). Equity Lifestyle Properties had a return on equity of 21.22% and a net margin of 24.99%.The firm had revenue of $397.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $395.71 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.5425 per share. This represents a $2.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. Equity Lifestyle Properties’s payout ratio is 108.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equity Lifestyle Properties news, Director David J. Contis sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.22, for a total transaction of $201,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,890 shares in the company, valued at $1,000,905.80. The trade was a 16.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Company Profile

Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc (NYSE: ELS) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust specializing in the acquisition, development, ownership and operation of manufactured home communities and recreational vehicle resorts. The company’s portfolio includes more than 450 properties across the United States and Canada, serving over 200,000 residents and visitors. ELS organizes its operations into two primary segments: manufactured housing communities, which provide long-term housing solutions, and upscale RV and seasonal resorts designed for leisure travelers and seasonal patrons.

In its manufactured home division, ELS offers home-site leases combined with community amenities such as landscaped common areas, clubhouses, swimming pools and organized resident events.