Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Has $2.20 Million Stock Holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS - Free Report) by 21.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,986 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 5,788 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties were worth $2,197,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,053,845 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,668,586,000 after buying an additional 388,888 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 172.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 3,838,809 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 147,332 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 592.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,918,241 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $260,955,000 after purchasing an additional 3,352,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 1.4% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 53,775 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.21% of the company's stock.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Stock Performance

NYSE:ELS opened at $63.77 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.03 and a current ratio of 0.02. The firm's 50-day moving average is $66.38 and its 200-day moving average is $67.59. Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.86 and a 52-week high of $76.60. The company has a market cap of $12.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.70, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.72.

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, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.83. Equity LifeStyle Properties had a return on equity of 23.12% and a net margin of 24.05%. The firm had revenue of $327.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $391.34 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th were issued a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. This is a positive change from Equity LifeStyle Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Equity LifeStyle Properties's payout ratio is 106.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on ELS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Equity LifeStyle Properties in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased 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. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.10.

About Equity LifeStyle Properties

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.

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