KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys Shares of 60,800 Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 60,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $4,074,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 172.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,070,817 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $404,319,000 after acquiring an additional 3,838,809 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 3.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,761,879 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $339,713,000 after purchasing an additional 147,332 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,833,596 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $273,014,000 after purchasing an additional 65,191 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,971,493 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $197,896,000 after buying an additional 193,927 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,553,330 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $170,052,000 after buying an additional 112,139 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of ELS stock opened at $67.09 on Thursday. Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.82 and a fifty-two week high of $76.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.03 and a current ratio of 0.02. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.70. The company has a market cap of $12.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79.

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76. Equity LifeStyle Properties had a net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 23.12%. Research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This is an increase from Equity LifeStyle Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. Equity LifeStyle Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ELS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial raised Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $69.00 to $68.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.78.

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.