Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Wedbush

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Wedbush in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $68.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Wedbush’s target price suggests a potential upside of 5.59% from the stock’s current price. Wedbush also issued estimates for Equity Residential’s Q2 2024 earnings at $0.96 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $1.01 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $1.04 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $4.06 EPS.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Equity Residential from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Equity Residential from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays reduced their price objective on Equity Residential from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “hold” rating and a $64.00 price objective on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.04.

Equity Residential Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of EQR opened at $64.40 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.72, a PEG ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.23 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Equity Residential has a one year low of $52.57 and a one year high of $69.45. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.91.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $730.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $728.09 million. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 31.70%. Equity Residential’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Equity Residential

In related news, EVP Alexander Brackenridge sold 4,027 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total value of $261,795.27. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 69,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,544,264.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Alexander Brackenridge sold 4,027 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total value of $261,795.27. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 69,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,544,264.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mary Kay Haben sold 3,241 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.48, for a total transaction of $212,220.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $636,465.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,548 shares of company stock worth $666,351 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. Norges Bank bought a new position in Equity Residential during the 4th quarter worth about $2,143,388,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 68.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,416,565 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $259,297,000 after purchasing an additional 1,795,772 shares in the last quarter. Davis Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Equity Residential during the 4th quarter worth about $61,160,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,206,249 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $305,659,000 after purchasing an additional 629,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 9,325,268 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $570,333,000 after purchasing an additional 516,941 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

About Equity Residential

Equity Residential is committed to creating communities where people thrive. The Company, a member of the S&P 500, is focused on the acquisition, development and management of residential properties located in and around dynamic cities that attract affluent long-term renters. Equity Residential owns or has investments in 305 properties consisting of 80,683 apartment units, with an established presence in Boston, New York, Washington, DC, Seattle, San Francisco and Southern California, and an expanding presence in Denver, Atlanta, Dallas/Ft.