Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Makes New Investment in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 99,171 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $7,384,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EQR. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,267,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,279,095,000 after buying an additional 381,236 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 8.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,745,615 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $576,737,000 after acquiring an additional 591,866 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 1.2% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,001,360 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $346,794,000 after acquiring an additional 60,000 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 4.3% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,715,151 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $171,368,000 after purchasing an additional 112,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Equity Residential by 20.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,180,190 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $151,174,000 after purchasing an additional 373,229 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America downgraded Equity Residential from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Wedbush raised their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on Equity Residential in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.25.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Equity Residential stock opened at $75.79 on Friday. Equity Residential has a 12-month low of $56.05 and a 12-month 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $74.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.76 billion, a PE ratio of 31.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.06 and a beta of 0.90.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 24th were paid a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 24th. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is currently 110.66%.

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.