Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $78.51.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th.

Insider Activity at Equity Residential

In related news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $46,262.52. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,840,340.34. This represents a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $683,728.09. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,930,106.67. This represents a 26.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217 over the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EQR. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,493,426,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 806.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,259,145 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $317,136,000 after acquiring an additional 3,789,234 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 53.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,476,004 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $464,718,000 after acquiring an additional 2,246,555 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Equity Residential by 29.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,746,494 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $576,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,741,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,522,442 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $468,050,000 after purchasing an additional 696,343 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

NYSE EQR opened at $69.85 on Monday. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $59.48 and a 52-week high of $78.84. The company has a fifty day moving average of $70.79 and a 200-day moving average of $72.62. The company has a market capitalization of $26.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.6925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is 101.84%.

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.