Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 399,302 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lessened its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 78.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 110,798 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 399,302 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $7,683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the first quarter worth $27,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake 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 worth $36,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Equity Residential during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 146.6% in the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 550 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the period. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $62.00 to $83.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Equity Residential from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $77.00 in a report on Monday, August 26th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Equity Residential from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Equity Residential from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $82.00 in a report on Tuesday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.97.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQR opened at $75.20 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.21. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $52.57 and a 52 week high of $78.83. The firm has a market cap of $28.54 billion, a PE ratio of 31.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $73.03 and its 200-day moving average is $67.87.

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

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 24th will be given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 24th. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.