Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Sets New 1-Year High Following Dividend Announcement

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $78.78 and last traded at $78.17, with a volume of 42291 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $78.08.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 24th. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 112.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank increased their target price on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Mizuho increased their target price on Equity Residential from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wedbush increased their target price on Equity Residential from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.62.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.39. The firm has a market cap of $29.35 billion, a PE ratio of 32.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 6,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total value of $439,141.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,006,910.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Residential

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EQR. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Equity Residential during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Equity Residential during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in Equity Residential by 41.9% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 525 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Equity Residential by 146.6% during the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 550 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Equity Residential during the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Company Profile

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.