Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $67.04.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on EQR. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Equity Residential from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Equity Residential from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Raymond James upgraded Equity Residential from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on Equity Residential from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors 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 stake in Equity Residential during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,143,388,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 68.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,416,565 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $259,297,000 after acquiring an additional 1,795,772 shares during the period. Davis Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,160,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 13.8% in the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,206,249 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $305,659,000 after acquiring an additional 629,813 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 9,325,268 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $570,333,000 after acquiring an additional 516,941 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Price Performance

NYSE EQR opened at $65.56 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $62.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $24.88 billion, a PE ratio of 27.20, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.82. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $52.57 and a 1 year high of $69.45.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.88 EPS for the current year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th were issued a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.12%. This is an increase from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is currently 112.03%.

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.