Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC Purchases New Position in Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. $ELS

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 11,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $709,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,576,449,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 303.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,948,613 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $966,648,000 after buying an additional 11,999,874 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 253.7% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,147,048 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $191,025,000 after acquiring an additional 2,257,299 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 10,614,040 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $643,331,000 after acquiring an additional 2,246,622 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $125,352,000. Institutional investors own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on ELS. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from $70.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Odeon Capital Group set a $65.00 target price on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays set a $69.00 target price on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated a “mixed” rating and set a $59.00 price target (down from $62.50) on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.52.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:ELS opened at $65.74 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.02 and a current ratio of 0.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $64.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.65. Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.72 and a 52-week high of $69.00.

Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $397.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $383.66 million. Equity Lifestyle Properties had a net margin of 25.92% and a return on equity of 22.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.5425 per share. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 25th. Equity Lifestyle Properties’s payout ratio is 104.33%.

About Equity Lifestyle Properties

Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc (NYSE: ELS) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust specializing in the acquisition, development, ownership and operation of manufactured home communities and recreational vehicle resorts. The company’s portfolio includes more than 450 properties across the United States and Canada, serving over 200,000 residents and visitors. ELS organizes its operations into two primary segments: manufactured housing communities, which provide long-term housing solutions, and upscale RV and seasonal resorts designed for leisure travelers and seasonal patrons.

In its manufactured home division, ELS offers home-site leases combined with community amenities such as landscaped common areas, clubhouses, swimming pools and organized resident events.