Sterling Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS - Free Report) by 59.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,216 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 4,192 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties were worth $747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 purchasing an additional 388,888 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $404,319,000 after buying 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% during 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 buying an additional 147,332 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 592.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,918,241 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $260,955,000 after acquiring an additional 3,352,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 53,775 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.21% of the company's stock.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ELS traded down $1.35 during trading on Monday, hitting $63.97. 434,256 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,519,377. Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.86 and a 52-week high of $76.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $66.48 and a 200 day moving average of $67.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.02 and a quick ratio of 0.03. The company has a market cap of $12.23 billion, a PE ratio of 32.81, 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, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.76. Equity LifeStyle Properties had a return on equity of 23.12% and a net margin of 24.05%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th were given a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. This is a boost from Equity LifeStyle Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 28th. Equity LifeStyle Properties's dividend payout ratio is 105.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Equity LifeStyle Properties from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $78.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $69.00 to $68.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Truist Financial raised shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Equity LifeStyle Properties in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $74.20.

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.