Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Given New $70.00 Price Target at Evercore

Key Points

• Evercore raised its price target on Equity Residential to $70 from $67 and maintained an "outperform" rating, implying roughly a 6.15% upside from the prior close.
• Q1 results missed expectations (EPS $0.24 vs. $0.29) and revenue was slightly below consensus, and management set FY 2026 EPS guidance of $4.02–$4.14 and Q2 EPS of $0.98–$1.02, ranges that investors view as somewhat cautious.
• Analysts' consensus is a "Hold" with an average price target of about $69.66 (ratings breakdown: 1 Strong Buy, 7 Buy, 12 Hold), and institutional ownership is high at roughly 92.7%.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by investment analysts at Evercore from $67.00 to $70.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the real estate investment trust's stock. Evercore's price objective suggests a potential upside of 6.15% from the stock's previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on Equity Residential from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Equity Residential from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $69.66.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

NYSE EQR traded up $0.80 on Wednesday, reaching $65.95. The stock had a trading volume of 346,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,587,512. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. Equity Residential has a 12-month low of $57.57 and a 12-month high of $72.40. The business's 50-day moving average price is $61.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.48. The stock has a market cap of $24.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.73.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.05). Equity Residential had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 9.98%. The company had revenue of $779.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $783.38 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equity Residential has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.020-4.140 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.980-1.020 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Equity Residential will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equity Residential news, EVP Catherine Carraway sold 656 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total value of $42,725.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,339 shares in the company, valued at $1,194,419.07. The trade was a 3.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 5,765 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total transaction of $375,474.45. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 46,131 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,004,512.03. The trade was a 11.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 10,058 shares of company stock valued at $655,078 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equity Residential

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Equity Residential by 2.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,597,658 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,728,296,000 after buying an additional 1,281,354 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 566.7% in the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 115,181 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $7,456,000 after purchasing an additional 97,906 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 34.6% during the third quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 568,408 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $36,446,000 after purchasing an additional 146,148 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $9,094,000. Finally, National Pension Service grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 605,494 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $39,194,000 after purchasing an additional 26,590 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity Residential News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Equity Residential this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus kept a Buy rating and trimmed its price target slightly to $78.25 (from $78.50), implying roughly 20% upside from recent levels — a vote of confidence that may support the share price. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks reported that funds from operations (FFO) topped expectations (Zacks: $0.99 vs. consensus $0.95), which investors often view as a more relevant profitability metric for REITs. EQR Q1 FFO Top Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue was up ~2.5% year‑over‑year, showing underlying growth in the portfolio even though the top line slightly missed the quarterly consensus — mixed signal for growth vs. near‑term execution. Press Release
• Negative Sentiment: Reported EPS missed analyst estimates ($0.24 vs. consensus $0.29) and revenue came in slightly below expectations — the immediate driver of the stock weakness. Earnings Press Release
• Negative Sentiment: Management updated guidance: Q2 2026 EPS guidance of $0.98–$1.02 (consensus ~$1.02) and FY 2026 EPS guidance of $4.02–$4.14 (consensus ~$4.07). The Q2 range undercuts the consensus midpoint and the FY range is only marginally different, which investors may view as cautious. Guidance Details
• Negative Sentiment: The company press release shows weaker FFO and EPS versus last year in some reported measures (e.g., FFO per share figures differ across sources), adding to near‑term uncertainty and causing some investors to focus on execution and accounting definitions. Business Wire

About Equity Residential

Equity Residential NYSE: EQR is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that acquires, develops, owns and operates rental apartment properties. Headquartered in Chicago, the company focuses on delivering professionally managed, market-rate apartment homes and related services to renters. Its operations cover a range of property types, including high-rise and mid-rise assets, with amenities and on-site management designed to support resident retention and occupancy.

The company's core activities include property acquisitions, development and redevelopment, leasing, and day-to-day property management.

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