Janus Henderson Group PLC Acquires 782 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,910 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 782 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $5,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,493,426,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 53.1% in the 4th 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 during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Equity Residential by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,522,442 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $468,050,000 after acquiring an additional 696,343 shares during the last quarter. Adelante Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 172.1% during the fourth quarter. Adelante Capital Management LLC now owns 1,077,337 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $77,310,000 after acquiring an additional 681,356 shares during the period. Finally, Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 79.1% in the fourth quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC now owns 1,161,137 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $83,323,000 after purchasing an additional 512,723 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Equity Residential stock opened at $71.77 on Monday. 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 has a 52 week low of $59.41 and a 52 week high of $78.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $68.87 and a 200-day moving average of $70.84.

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

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.6925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.86%. This is a positive change from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on EQR shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Equity Residential presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.69.

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.