Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $75.97.

A number of analysts recently commented on EQR shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Equity Residential from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $77.00 in a report on Monday, August 26th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Equity Residential in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $83.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Equity Residential from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st.

Equity Residential Price Performance

EQR stock opened at $74.27 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $74.79 and a 200-day moving average of $69.93. The company has a market cap of $28.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.82, a PEG ratio of 6.17 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Equity Residential has a 12-month low of $52.57 and a 12-month high of $78.83.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.96 by ($0.49). Equity Residential had a return on equity of 8.53% and a net margin of 32.83%. The firm had revenue of $734.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $735.26 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Equity Residential will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 24th were issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 24th. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is presently 112.03%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 1.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,267,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,279,095,000 after purchasing an additional 381,236 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Equity Residential by 482.3% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,153,749 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $496,040,000 after acquiring an additional 5,925,177 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in Equity Residential by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,001,360 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $346,794,000 after acquiring an additional 60,000 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 4.3% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,715,151 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $171,368,000 after purchasing an additional 112,270 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 20.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,180,190 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $151,174,000 after purchasing an additional 373,229 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.