Fore Capital LLC Acquires Shares of 20,000 Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

Fore Capital LLC acquired a new position in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 20,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,332,000. Equity LifeStyle Properties makes up approximately 0.5% of Fore Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 105.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 15,279 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,090,000 after acquiring an additional 7,847 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 13,775 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,121 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties during the 3rd quarter valued at about $938,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties in the third quarter worth approximately $1,563,000. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd purchased a new stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties in the 3rd quarter worth $2,429,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Stock Performance

Shares of ELS opened at $66.81 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business’s 50 day moving average is $66.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.01. Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $59.82 and a 52-week high of $76.60. The firm has a market cap of $12.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.26, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79.

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 23.12%. Analysts forecast that Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is a positive change from Equity LifeStyle Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. Equity LifeStyle Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ELS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $69.00 to $68.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $66.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Three 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equity LifeStyle Properties has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.78.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Company Profile

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.