Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Equity Residential has received an average rating of "Hold" from brokerages, with seven analysts recommending a hold and six suggesting a buy, while their average 12-month price target is $75.96.
• Institutions own over 92.68% of Equity Residential's shares, with notable positions taken by Norges Bank and Prudential Financial, which saw significant increases in their holdings.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6925, representing an annualized yield of 4.2%, although its dividend payout ratio stands at 104.53%.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $75.9615.

Several brokerages recently commented on EQR. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $76.50 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EQR. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Equity Residential in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,351,689,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Equity Residential in the 1st quarter worth approximately $165,442,000. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 725.6% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 1,908,429 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $128,800,000 after buying an additional 1,677,278 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,019,026 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $541,204,000 after buying an additional 1,384,580 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,711,588 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,482,537,000 after buying an additional 1,101,027 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

EQR stock opened at $66.49 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $25.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.09, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.81. Equity Residential has a one year low of $59.41 and a one year high of $78.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.17.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.99. The business had revenue of $768.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.60 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 33.22% and a return on equity of 9.05%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. Equity Residential has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.970-4.030 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 0.990-1.030 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Equity Residential will post 3.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 25th will be issued a $0.6925 dividend. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 25th. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio is 104.53%.

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.

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