Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,940,000 shares, a drop of 5.2% from the August 15th total of 3,100,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,130,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of ELS stock opened at $74.44 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.68, a P/E/G ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.79. Equity LifeStyle Properties has a fifty-two week low of $59.82 and a fifty-two week high of $76.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.23). Equity LifeStyle Properties had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 23.71%. The business had revenue of $380.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $334.53 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Equity LifeStyle Properties will post 2.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a dividend of $0.4775 per share. This represents a $1.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. This is an increase from Equity LifeStyle Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Equity LifeStyle Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 104.37%.

Insider Transactions at Equity LifeStyle Properties

In related news, COO Patrick Waite sold 20,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.23, for a total transaction of $1,462,188.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 221,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,575,398.71. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Marguerite M. Nader sold 33,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.52, for a total transaction of $2,492,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 260,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,705,886.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Patrick Waite sold 20,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.23, for a total transaction of $1,462,188.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 221,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,575,398.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity LifeStyle Properties

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ELS. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties during the second quarter valued at $119,000. Cim LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 7.2% in the second quarter. Cim LLC now owns 41,573 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,007,000 after buying an additional 2,779 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties in the second quarter worth approximately $1,010,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 744.8% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 251,747 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $16,396,000 after acquiring an additional 221,947 shares during the period. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,885,000. 97.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ELS shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.25.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Company Profile

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.