Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Buys 543,574 Shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. $ELS

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) by 93.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,126,974 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 543,574 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties were worth $68,407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 1.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,268,436 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $824,943,000 after acquiring an additional 237,090 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,724,515 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $291,363,000 after purchasing an additional 515,063 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,071,627 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $250,491,000 after purchasing an additional 20,600 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in the 2nd quarter valued at $164,862,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 2.2% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,654,674 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $163,714,000 after buying an additional 57,483 shares during the period. 97.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Stock Performance

Shares of ELS opened at $61.70 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.05 and a quick ratio of 0.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $61.59 and a 200-day moving average of $61.22. The company has a market cap of $11.96 billion, a PE ratio of 31.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.77. Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. has a one year low of $58.15 and a one year high of $70.35.

Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75. The business had revenue of $393.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $389.39 million. Equity Lifestyle Properties had a return on equity of 20.99% and a net margin of 24.97%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th were issued a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 26th. Equity Lifestyle Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ELS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $66.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, December 8th. UBS Group set a $67.00 price objective on Equity Lifestyle Properties and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Equity Lifestyle Properties from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “inline” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.29.

Equity Lifestyle Properties 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.