Analysts Set Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) Price Target at $70.42

Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $69.6250.

ELS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group set a $67.00 price target on Equity Lifestyle Properties and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Zelman & Associates initiated coverage on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a report on Monday, March 16th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $59.25 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $70.00 price target (up from $68.00) on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research report on Friday, February 27th.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Price Performance

NYSE ELS opened at $64.21 on Friday. Equity Lifestyle Properties has a 1 year low of $58.15 and a 1 year high of $69.15. The business’s fifty day moving average is $65.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a current ratio of 0.04.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 27th will be issued a $0.5425 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 27th. This is an increase from Equity Lifestyle Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Equity Lifestyle Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 102.49%.

Insider Activity at Equity Lifestyle Properties

In other news, Director David J. Contis sold 3,000 shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.22, for a total transaction of $201,660.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 14,890 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,000,905.80. The trade was a 16.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Lifestyle Properties

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,477,480 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,544,190,000 after purchasing an additional 592,013 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 303.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,948,613 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $966,648,000 after purchasing an additional 11,999,874 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 1.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 237,090 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its position in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 10,614,040 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $643,331,000 after purchasing an additional 2,246,622 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,823,626 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $414,194,000 after buying an additional 1,674,281 shares during the period. 97.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.