Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 3,838,809 Shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS - Free Report) by 172.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,070,817 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 3,838,809 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 3.18% of Equity LifeStyle Properties worth $404,319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ELS. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 26.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,367 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $169,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its position in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 37.3% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,715 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 1,824 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 2.5% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 55,197 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,938,000 after purchasing an additional 1,363 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 31.3% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 613 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 106.7% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,292 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.21% of the company's stock.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Stock Performance

NYSE:ELS traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $65.43. 346,908 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,424,297. Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. has a one year low of $59.82 and a one year high of $76.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.50 billion, a PE ratio of 33.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.79. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $66.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.03 and a current ratio of 0.02.

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76. Equity LifeStyle Properties had a net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 23.12%. Analysts anticipate that Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.515 dividend. This is a positive change from Equity LifeStyle Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Equity LifeStyle Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ELS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $72.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Compass Point raised their target price on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.78.

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.