Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. $ELS Shares Purchased by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) by 1,104.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 673,072 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 617,202 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties were worth $40,794,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELS. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 114.5% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,375,154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $326,272,000 after purchasing an additional 2,868,678 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 253.7% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,147,048 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $191,025,000 after purchasing an additional 2,257,299 shares during the period. Centersquare Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 2,448.8% in the third quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 1,963,378 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $119,177,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886,348 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 32.5% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,823,626 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $414,194,000 after purchasing an additional 1,674,281 shares during the period. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 1,520.4% in the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,771,803 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $109,267,000 after purchasing an additional 1,662,458 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a report on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America raised shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $76.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $70.00 price target (up from $68.00) on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a report on Friday, February 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Lifestyle Properties has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Equity Lifestyle Properties Stock Performance

Shares of ELS opened at $61.12 on Friday. Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.15 and a 1 year high of $69.00. The company has a market cap of $11.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a current ratio of 0.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $64.27 and a 200-day moving average of $63.46.

Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.56 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $397.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $395.71 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 26th will be issued a $0.5425 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. This represents a $2.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Equity Lifestyle Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 108.50%.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Company 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.