Clearbridge Investments LLC Lowers Holdings in Equity Residential $EQR

Clearbridge Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 15.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 259,264 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 48,651 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.07% of Equity Residential worth $16,344,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 69.2% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 440 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 434.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 540 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Equity Residential during the 4th quarter worth $48,000. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity Residential Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:EQR opened at $67.57 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $57.57 and a 52-week high of $70.21. The company has a 50 day moving average of $64.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.59. The company has a market capitalization of $25.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.39 and a beta of 0.75.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.09). Equity Residential had a net margin of 30.63% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The firm had revenue of $779.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $781.79 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue 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, analysts forecast that Equity Residential will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 30th were issued a $0.7025 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 30th. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. This is an increase from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EQR. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $72.00 target price (down from $78.00) on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore raised their price target on Equity Residential from $70.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Equity Residential from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.55.

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.