Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Stock Position in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 809,801 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 59,243 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties were worth $55,034,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 41.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,699 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $892,000 after purchasing an additional 3,983 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 167.1% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 625 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 27.7% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 100,114 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,520,000 after buying an additional 21,686 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 8.7% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,947 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties in the second quarter worth $363,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Trading Up 0.6 %

ELS stock opened at $68.33 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $13.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.22, a PEG ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.96. Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. has a 52 week low of $59.82 and a 52 week high of $76.60.

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by ($0.28). The firm had revenue of $387.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.78 million. Equity LifeStyle Properties had a return on equity of 24.10% and a net margin of 23.97%. The business’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. will post 2.92 EPS for the current year.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.477 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $1.91 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. Equity LifeStyle Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ELS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Equity LifeStyle Properties from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $70.50 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Compass Point lifted their target price on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Equity LifeStyle Properties in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.50.

About Equity LifeStyle Properties

We are a self-administered, self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) with headquarters in Chicago. As of January 29, 2024, we own or have an interest in 451 properties in 35 states and British Columbia consisting of 172,465 sites.