Candriam S.C.A. Acquires 7,985 Shares of Equity Residential $EQR

Candriam S.C.A. grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 20.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,553 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,985 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $2,754,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EQR. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $9,094,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 4th quarter worth about $1,964,000. Pensionfund Sabic bought a new stake in Equity Residential in the fourth quarter worth about $1,567,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,016,454 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $63,051,000 after acquiring an additional 55,786 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,258,275 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $644,412,000 after purchasing an additional 114,604 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of EQR stock opened at $68.77 on Wednesday. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $57.57 and a 12 month high of $71.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $66.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.63. The company has a market capitalization of $25.78 billion, a PE ratio of 27.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.18.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $779.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $781.79 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 30.63% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. 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. Analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 29th were given a dividend of $0.7025 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 29th. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is 112.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Equity Residential from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Equity Residential from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Equity Residential to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.80.

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.