Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Equity Residential has an average analyst rating of "Hold" from 19 firms (13 hold, 6 buy) with a one‑year average target of about $69.63 and mixed recent price‑target moves from major brokers.
• Company insiders (EVP and COO) sold a combined 10,058 shares in February for roughly $655k, reducing their positions; insiders now own about 1.0% of the stock.
• Equity Residential reported Q4 EPS of $1.03 (missed by $0.01) and set Q1 2026 guidance of $0.940–0.980 and FY 2026 of $4.020–4.140; the REIT pays a quarterly dividend of $0.6925 (annualized yield ~4.4%) with a payout ratio of 94.54%.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Hold" by the nineteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $69.6316.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EQR. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Equity Residential from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $70.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Equity Residential from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Evercore raised their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Robert Garechana sold 3,637 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total value of $236,877.81. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,740 shares in the company, valued at $1,220,536.20. The trade was a 16.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 5,765 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total value of $375,474.45. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 46,131 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,004,512.03. This represents 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 over the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equity Residential

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,543 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 69.2% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 440 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its position in Equity Residential by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 2,841 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Equity Residential by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 48,030 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,242,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 3,274 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Equity Residential stock opened at $62.78 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $23.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.43, a PEG ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $62.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.54. Equity Residential has a 12-month low of $58.38 and a 12-month high of $73.14.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.01). Equity Residential had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 9.98%. The business had revenue of $781.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $786.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equity Residential has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.940-0.980 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.020-4.140 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.6925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio is 94.54%.

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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