Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires Shares of 101,525 Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 101,525 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $6,762,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.05% of Equity LifeStyle Properties as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELS. National Pension Service purchased a new position in Equity LifeStyle Properties in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 43.5% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 564 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 68.2% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 898 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the period. 97.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on ELS. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Equity LifeStyle Properties in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $69.00 to $68.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut 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 research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.33.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of ELS traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $63.11. The stock had a trading volume of 1,196,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,303,097. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $66.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.51. Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.86 and a 12-month high of $76.60. 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 has a market cap of $12.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.72.

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83. The business had revenue of $327.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $391.34 million. Equity LifeStyle Properties had a return on equity of 23.12% and a net margin of 24.05%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.515 per share. This is a positive change from Equity LifeStyle Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Equity LifeStyle Properties's payout ratio is presently 106.74%.

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.