Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Boosts Position in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 202,092 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,719 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties were worth $13,459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,553,330 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $170,052,000 after buying an additional 112,139 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 45,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,010,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. B&I Capital AG purchased a new stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties in the fourth quarter worth $7,578,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties in the fourth quarter worth $73,000. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 23,787 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,584,000 after purchasing an additional 2,340 shares during the period. 97.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ELS opened at $68.16 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $13.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.96, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.02 and a quick ratio of 0.03. Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $59.82 and a 1 year high of $76.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $66.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.11.

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76. Equity LifeStyle Properties had a return on equity of 23.12% and a net margin of 24.05%. Sell-side analysts expect that Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current 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 an increase from Equity LifeStyle Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. Equity LifeStyle Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ELS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial raised Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $69.00 to $68.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.78.

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.