Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $78.51.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th.

Equity Residential Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:EQR opened at $69.85 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $59.48 and a 1 year high of $78.84. The company has a market cap of $26.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.68, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $70.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.62.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. This is an increase from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.84%.

Insider Activity at Equity Residential

In related news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $384,800.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,558,634.42. The trade was a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $683,728.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,930,106.67. The trade was a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EQR. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Equity Residential during the fourth quarter valued at $879,000. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 588,059 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,199,000 after buying an additional 46,671 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,749 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ purchased a new position in Equity Residential during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,593,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Equity Residential in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,584,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

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.