Barclays PLC Acquires 318,938 Shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS - Free Report) by 156.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 522,262 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 318,938 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned about 0.27% of Equity LifeStyle Properties worth $34,782,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,053,845 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,668,586,000 after purchasing an additional 388,888 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 172.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,070,817 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $404,319,000 after purchasing an additional 3,838,809 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 3.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,761,879 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $339,713,000 after purchasing an additional 147,332 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 592.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,918,241 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $260,955,000 after buying an additional 3,352,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,887,371 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $258,536,000 after buying an additional 53,775 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.21% of the company's stock.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Trading Down 1.4 %

ELS traded down $0.93 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $64.39. 1,442,896 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,294,616. Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.86 and a 52-week high of $76.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.31 billion, a PE ratio of 33.02, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $66.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.83. Equity LifeStyle Properties had a net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 23.12%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.515 per share. This is an increase from Equity LifeStyle Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 28th. Equity LifeStyle Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $69.00 to $68.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $78.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.20.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Company Profile

Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the ownership and operation of lifestyle-oriented properties consisting primarily of manufactured home, and recreational vehicle communities. It operates through the following segments: Property Operations and Home Sales and Rentals Operations.