Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nineteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $78.69.

Several research firms recently commented on EQR. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of Equity Residential stock opened at $67.43 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $72.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.59. Equity Residential has a 1-year low of $57.33 and a 1-year high of $78.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $25.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.64, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.93.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is 110.66%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Equity Residential by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 32,658 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,341,000 after acquiring an additional 979 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,966 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 182,397 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,430,000 after purchasing an additional 8,088 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 104.6% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 17,195 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,280,000 after buying an additional 8,789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 129,258 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,625,000 after buying an additional 14,109 shares during the last quarter. 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.