Handelsbanken Fonder AB Reduces Stock Position in Equity Residential $EQR

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 196,806 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 19,529 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $12,407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 69.2% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 440 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 434.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 540 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQR has been the subject of several analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on Equity Residential from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Equity Residential from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Equity Residential from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Piper Sandler set a $78.00 price objective on Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Equity Residential from $78.50 to $78.25 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.11.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

NYSE EQR opened at $65.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.32, a PEG ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 0.76. Equity Residential has a twelve month low of $57.57 and a twelve month high of $70.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $62.08 and a 200 day moving average of $61.87.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $779.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $781.79 million. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 30.63%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 4.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 30th were issued a $0.7025 dividend. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 30th. This is a positive change from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is currently 112.40%.

Equity Residential Profile

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.