Analysts Set Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Price Target at $67.04

Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the fifteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $67.04.

Several research firms have issued reports on EQR. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Equity Residential from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $64.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James upgraded shares of Equity Residential from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Equity Residential from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Monday, April 29th.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQR opened at $65.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.23 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The business has a 50-day moving average of $62.45 and a 200-day moving average of $60.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.35, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.82. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $52.57 and a fifty-two week high of $69.45.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 31.70%. The firm had revenue of $730.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $728.09 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This is a positive change from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 112.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equity Residential news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 876 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total transaction of $50,632.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 20,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,927.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Equity Residential news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 876 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total transaction of $50,632.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,927.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 716 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total value of $41,384.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,384,252.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 8,860 shares of company stock valued at $566,034. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Residential

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 593.9% during the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Equity Residential during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in Equity Residential during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 120.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 488 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.