Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Raised to “Buy” at Stifel Nicolaus

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) was upgraded by stock analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $81.50 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their prior target price of $77.75. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target indicates a potential upside of 11.55% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on EQR. Scotiabank raised their price target on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America lowered shares of Equity Residential from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.42.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQR opened at $73.06 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $27.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.94, a P/E/G ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.90. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $53.74 and a 1 year high of $78.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.60.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 32.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,620 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 50.5% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 404,302 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,508,000 after buying an additional 135,694 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,643 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $545,000 after acquiring an additional 787 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 448,444 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,907,000 after acquiring an additional 18,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Equity Residential by 13.2% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 624,866 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,435,000 after acquiring an additional 72,906 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.