Wedbush Forecasts Weaker Earnings for Equity Residential

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) – Investment analysts at Wedbush cut their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Equity Residential in a research note issued on Monday, February 10th. Wedbush analyst R. Anderson now expects that the real estate investment trust will post earnings of $3.96 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $4.04. The consensus estimate for Equity Residential’s current full-year earnings is $3.98 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Equity Residential’s FY2026 earnings at $4.18 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on EQR. Barclays decreased their target price on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.36.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQR opened at $71.44 on Wednesday. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $57.33 and a 12 month high of $78.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.26, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.13. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $70.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.75.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is 99.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

In other Equity Residential news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $46,262.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,840,340.34. The trade was a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $384,800.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at $2,558,634.42. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EQR. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the third quarter worth $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Equity Residential by 607.8% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 2,529.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 92.68% of the stock is currently 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.