Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (ELS): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

Because Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) has witnessed a decline in interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, logic holds that there was a specific group of funds that slashed their positions entirely heading into Q4. It’s worth mentioning that Richard Driehaus’ Driehaus Capital said goodbye to the largest stake of the “upper crust” of funds tracked by Insider Monkey, valued at about $7.6 million in stock, and Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $5.5 million worth of shares.

Let’s now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Oaktree Capital Group LLC (NYSE:OAK), Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H), American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG), and AngloGold Ashanti Limited (ADR) (NYSE:AU). This group of stocks’ market values resemble ELS’s market value.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 19 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $268 million. That figure was $271 million in ELS’s case. Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Oaktree Capital Group LLC (NYSE:OAK) is the least popular one with only 16 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) is even less popular than OAK. Considering that hedge funds aren’t fond of this stock in relation to other companies analyzed in this article, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and understand why the smart money isn’t behind this stock. This isn’t necessarily bad news. Although it is possible that hedge funds may think the stock is overpriced and view the stock as a short candidate, they may not be very familiar with the bullish thesis. In either case more research is warranted.

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