Citigroup Inc. Sells 199,501 Shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

Citigroup Inc. cut its holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) by 58.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 143,582 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 199,501 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties were worth $9,577,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,151,151 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,677,582,000 after purchasing an additional 97,306 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 4.6% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,349,010 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $423,479,000 after purchasing an additional 278,193 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 15.1% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,330,066 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $355,515,000 after purchasing an additional 699,877 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 1.7% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,597,191 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $173,233,000 after purchasing an additional 43,861 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 43.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,434,858 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $162,162,000 after purchasing an additional 735,580 shares during the period. 97.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE ELS opened at $60.66 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $61.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.08. The company has a market capitalization of $11.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.43, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.70. Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.15 and a 1-year high of $76.60.

Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.69. The business had revenue of $313.29 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.59 million. Equity Lifestyle Properties had a return on equity of 21.12% and a net margin of 24.13%. Equity Lifestyle Properties’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Friday, September 26th will be given a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 26th. Equity Lifestyle Properties’s payout ratio is 106.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ELS shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. They issued a “positive” rating and a $67.50 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded Equity Lifestyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Equity Lifestyle Properties from $82.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Equity Lifestyle Properties from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised Equity Lifestyle Properties from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.50.

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.