Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Receives $72.84 Average PT from Analysts

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Eleven equities research 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 issued a report on the stock in the last year is $74.62.

Several equities analysts have commented on EQR shares. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Equity Residential from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Equity Residential from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, August 26th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Equity Residential in a report on Wednesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th.

Equity Residential Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:EQR opened at $76.73 on Thursday. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $52.57 and a 52 week high of $76.94. The company’s 50 day moving average is $71.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.83. The company has a market cap of $29.12 billion, a PE ratio of 31.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.89. 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 (NYSE:EQR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.96 by ($0.49). Equity Residential had a net margin of 32.83% and a return on equity of 8.53%. The business had revenue of $734.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $735.26 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 1st were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 1st. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is 112.03%.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In related news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 6,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total transaction of $439,141.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,006,910.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Equity Residential

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,577,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,837,945 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $234,729,000 after purchasing an additional 97,212 shares during the last quarter. AR Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Equity Residential by 405.9% during the fourth quarter. AR Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,630,000 after purchasing an additional 34,500 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Equity Residential in the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the fourth quarter valued at $3,066,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

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.