Squarepoint Ops LLC Boosts Stock Position in Equity Residential $EQR

Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 260.7% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 137,133 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 99,117 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $9,315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 6,638.4% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 38,021,100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,582,773,000 after buying an additional 37,456,854 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the 4th quarter worth $2,201,674,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 227.7% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 7,405,502 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $466,869,000 after acquiring an additional 5,145,442 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 5,893.5% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,335,122 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $294,485,000 after acquiring an additional 4,262,792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 876.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,500,885 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $291,342,000 after acquiring an additional 4,039,752 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of EQR opened at $63.68 on Friday. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $57.57 and a fifty-two week high of $71.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $66.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.61. The company has a market cap of $23.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.69, a PEG ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $785.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $787.28 million. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 27.97%.Equity Residential’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Equity Residential will post 4.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 29th were paid a $0.7025 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 29th. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is currently 122.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on EQR shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $72.00 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Monday, July 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Equity Residential to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Evercore upped their price objective on Equity Residential from $70.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, June 8th. Bank of America upgraded Equity Residential from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $76.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Equity Residential from $78.25 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.40.

Equity Residential Profile

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and develops rental apartment communities. The company focuses on providing housing in large, economically diverse metropolitan areas where demand for apartment living is supported by employment, population growth and limited housing supply.

Its portfolio primarily serves residents in major U.S. markets, including Boston, New York, Washington, DC, Southern California, Seattle and Denver. Equity Residential’s activities include leasing apartment homes, managing residential communities and providing resident services and property amenities.

The company traces its roots to 1969 and was founded by real estate investor Samuel Zell.