Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $70.91.

EQR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Equity Residential from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, April 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 6,357 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total value of $439,141.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,576 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,910.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 12,596 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $770,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,577,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Equity Residential by 120.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 488 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Equity Residential during the 4th quarter worth approximately $216,000. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Equity Residential by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 43,138 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,638,000 after buying an additional 968 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity Residential Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE EQR opened at $71.24 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $27.04 billion, a PE ratio of 29.56, a PEG ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.87. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $52.57 and a 12 month high of $72.32. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $68.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.96 by ($0.49). The firm had revenue of $734.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $735.26 million. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 8.53% and a net margin of 32.83%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Equity Residential will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 1st were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 1st. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.03%.

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.