Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $69.6842.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on EQR shares. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Equity Residential from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $70.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Equity Residential from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on Equity Residential from $73.00 to $66.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th.

Equity Residential Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of EQR opened at $63.82 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $62.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.57. The stock has a market cap of $24.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.78, a P/E/G ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 0.76. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $58.38 and a 12 month high of $75.86.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $781.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $786.35 million. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 9.98% and a net margin of 36.20%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. Equity Residential has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.940-0.980 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.020-4.140 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd were issued a $0.6925 dividend. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is currently 94.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equity Residential news, EVP Catherine Carraway sold 656 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total value of $42,725.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,194,419.07. The trade was a 3.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 5,765 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total transaction of $375,474.45. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 46,131 shares in the company, valued at $3,004,512.03. This trade represents a 11.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 10,058 shares of company stock valued at $655,078 in the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Residential

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its stake in Equity Residential by 566.7% in the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 115,181 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,456,000 after buying an additional 97,906 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 605,494 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,194,000 after acquiring an additional 26,590 shares in the last quarter. Andra AP fonden increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 30.3% in the second quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 187,100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $12,627,000 after acquiring an additional 43,500 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Equity Residential during the third quarter worth about $4,693,000. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Equity Residential by 8.8% during the third quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 209,614 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,471,000 after purchasing an additional 17,014 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Company Profile

Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that acquires, develops, owns and operates rental apartment properties. Headquartered in Chicago, the company focuses on delivering professionally managed, market-rate apartment homes and related services to renters. Its operations cover a range of property types, including high-rise and mid-rise assets, with amenities and on-site management designed to support resident retention and occupancy.

The company’s core activities include property acquisitions, development and redevelopment, leasing, and day-to-day property management.