Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Receives Neutral Rating from Wedbush

Wedbush restated their neutral rating on shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) in a research report report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $68.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Raymond James raised shares of Equity Residential from an underperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Equity Residential from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Equity Residential from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Equity Residential from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $67.04.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

NYSE:EQR opened at $65.30 on Monday. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $52.57 and a 52 week high of $69.45. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $24.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.84.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $730.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $728.09 million. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 31.70%. Equity Residential’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th were paid a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.13%. This is a boost from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is currently 112.03%.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In related news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 716 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total value of $41,384.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 23,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,384,252.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Equity Residential news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 876 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total value of $50,632.80. Following the transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 716 shares of the business’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 value of $41,384.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,384,252.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,280 shares of company stock worth $192,335. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 7,291 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its position in Equity Residential by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 13,864 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $815,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 60,730 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,833,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in Equity Residential by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,626 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 67,535 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,130,000 after buying an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.