SG Americas Securities LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. $ELS

SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) by 592.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 96,232 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 82,330 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties were worth $5,841,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Achmea Investment Management B.V. acquired a new position in Equity Lifestyle Properties during the second quarter worth $1,039,000. Andra AP fonden lifted its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 34.9% in the second quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 352,400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $21,733,000 after acquiring an additional 91,100 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 191.3% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 30,420 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,876,000 after purchasing an additional 19,977 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its position in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 111.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 501,534 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,930,000 after purchasing an additional 264,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 23.2% during the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 229,092 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $14,128,000 after purchasing an additional 43,089 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on ELS shares. UBS Group set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $66.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, December 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Equity Lifestyle Properties from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “inline” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.21.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ELS opened at $60.83 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $61.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.24. Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.15 and a 52 week high of $70.35. The stock has a market cap of $11.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.57, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Equity Lifestyle Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th were paid a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Equity Lifestyle Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.52%.

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.