Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Upgraded at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on EQR. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Equity Residential from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $72.00 to $74.00 in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Equity Residential from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Equity Residential from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Wolfe Research raised Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Equity Residential from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.40.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQR opened at $67.87 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.94. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $57.57 and a fifty-two week high of $71.50. The company has a market capitalization of $25.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.51, a P/E/G ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.19 and a quick ratio of 0.18.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.09). Equity Residential had a net margin of 27.97% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm had revenue of $779.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $781.79 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equity Residential has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.020-4.140 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.980-1.020 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Equity Residential will post 4.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 29th were issued a dividend of $0.7025 per share. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 29th. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.40%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 375.2% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 480 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 48.8% during the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 549 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.