Royal Bank of Canada Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Stock Price

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) had its price target decreased by Royal Bank of Canada from $83.00 to $79.00 in a research report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

EQR has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Equity Residential from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $83.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wedbush lifted their price target on Equity Residential from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Equity Residential in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $81.00 price objective on the stock. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.19.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of EQR traded down $1.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $69.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,350,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,864,867. Equity Residential has a 1-year low of $53.28 and a 1-year high of $78.83. The stock has a market cap of $26.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.33, a PEG ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 24th were issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 24th. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is presently 110.66%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EQR. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Equity Residential by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,487 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 997 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in Equity Residential by 28.8% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 28,056 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,089,000 after buying an additional 6,280 shares during the period. Carmel Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Equity Residential by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,329 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $471,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Equity Residential by 2,529.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the period. Finally, Seven Post Investment Office LP raised its stake in Equity Residential by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Seven Post Investment Office LP now owns 311,861 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $23,221,000 after buying an additional 2,953 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Equity Residential

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.