Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Acquires New Position in Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. $ELS

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund acquired a new stake in Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 72,039 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $4,366,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 943.8% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 501 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the period. Clearstead Trust LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 74.8% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 540 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Finally, Fulcrum Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David J. Contis sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.22, for a total transaction of $201,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 14,890 shares in the company, valued at $1,000,905.80. This trade represents a 16.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ELS shares. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Equity Lifestyle Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Equity Lifestyle Properties from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Equity Lifestyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Zelman & Associates began coverage on Equity Lifestyle Properties in a report on Monday, March 16th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $59.25 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.20.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Stock Performance

NYSE ELS opened at $61.53 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $11.93 billion, a PE ratio of 30.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.15 and a twelve month high of $69.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.57.

Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.28). The business had revenue of $397.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $395.71 million. Equity Lifestyle Properties had a return on equity of 21.22% and a net margin of 24.99%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.5425 per share. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. Equity Lifestyle Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 108.50%.

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.