Clearbridge Investments LLC Trims Stock Position in Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. $ELS

Clearbridge Investments LLC lessened its stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 706,100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 58,060 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties were worth $42,797,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,477,480 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,544,190,000 after buying an additional 592,013 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,823,626 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $414,194,000 after buying an additional 1,674,281 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,712,562 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $285,048,000 after buying an additional 100,364 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,656,490 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $221,619,000 after buying an additional 509,442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,902,967 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $176,227,000 after buying an additional 60,852 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ELS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. Zelman & Associates started coverage on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research report on Monday, March 16th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $59.25 price target for the company. Truist Financial set a $67.00 price target on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equity Lifestyle Properties has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.20.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Stock Up 2.9%

ELS stock opened at $63.27 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $63.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.59. Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.15 and a 12 month high of $69.00. The company has a market cap of $12.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.04 and a quick ratio of 0.04.

Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last released 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 net margin of 24.99% and a return on equity of 21.22%. The business had revenue of $397.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $395.71 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 26th will be given a $0.5425 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. This represents a $2.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Equity Lifestyle Properties’s dividend 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 company’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $1,000,905.80. This represents a 16.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

About Equity Lifestyle Properties

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.