Truist Financial Increases Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Price Target to $77.00

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) had its target price lifted by equities researchers at Truist Financial from $73.00 to $77.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Truist Financial’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 2.83% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on EQR. Mizuho raised their target price on Equity Residential from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Equity Residential from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.16.

Equity Residential Price Performance

NYSE:EQR opened at $74.88 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.07, a P/E/G ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $52.57 and a 52 week high of $75.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $70.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.81.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.96 by ($0.49). The company had revenue of $734.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $735.26 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 32.83% and a return on equity of 8.53%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Equity Residential will post 3.88 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equity Residential news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 6,357 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total transaction of $439,141.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,910.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EQR. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in Equity Residential by 41.9% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 525 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in Equity Residential during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Equity Residential by 146.6% during the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 550 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the first quarter valued at about $41,000. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.