Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Royal Bank of Canada Analyst Says

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) had its target price increased by Royal Bank of Canada from $75.00 to $76.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

EQR has been the subject of several other research reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Equity Residential from $82.25 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho cut their price target on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.71.

Equity Residential Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:EQR opened at $70.71 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.86 billion, a PE ratio of 26.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $69.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.19. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $59.41 and a 1 year high of $78.84.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $760.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $769.43 million. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 9.27% and a net margin of 34.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. Analysts forecast that Equity Residential will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.6925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. This is a boost from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

In related news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $46,262.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,840,340.34. This trade represents a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $384,800.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,558,634.42. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 607.8% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 51.6% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 461 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 38.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Equity Residential by 109.5% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 551 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.