Wall Street Zen Upgrades Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) to “Hold”

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on EQR. Argus set a $70.00 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Equity Residential from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Equity Residential from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $63.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.73.

Equity Residential Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE EQR opened at $58.75 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $61.91 and its 200-day moving average is $62.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.05, a PEG ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.75. Equity Residential has a one year low of $57.57 and a one year high of $72.40.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.01). Equity Residential had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 9.98%. The company had revenue of $781.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $786.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. Equity Residential’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 research analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.98 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 5,765 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total value of $375,474.45. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 46,131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,004,512.03. The trade was a 11.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Catherine Carraway sold 656 shares of the company’s 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 $42,725.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,339 shares in the company, valued at $1,194,419.07. The trade was a 3.45% 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 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EQR. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,489 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $536,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 202,340 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,656,000 after buying an additional 15,221 shares in the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Equity Residential during the 2nd quarter valued at about $305,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 18.8% during the second quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 6,685 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $451,000 after buying an additional 1,059 shares during the period. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 0.8% during the second quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 406,132 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,410,000 after buying an additional 3,277 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Equity Residential

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.