Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nineteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $75.97.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on EQR shares. Wedbush increased their price objective on Equity Residential from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Equity Residential in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $81.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the first quarter valued at $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 69.6% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 475 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 41.9% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Stock Down 4.8 %

Shares of EQR opened at $70.41 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $26.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.86, a P/E/G ratio of 6.17 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.21 and a quick ratio of 0.21. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $52.57 and a 1 year high of $78.83.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $734.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $735.26 million. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 8.53% and a net margin of 32.83%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Equity Residential will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 issued a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 24th. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.83%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 110.66%.

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.