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

Key Points

• Equity Residential has a consensus analyst rating of “Hold” from 23 covering analysts, with 13 holds, nine buys, and one strong buy. The average 1-year price target is $70.80.
• The stock closed at $68.72, near its 52-week high of $71.50, and has a market cap of $25.75 billion. Recent analyst updates were mixed, with several firms adjusting target prices while maintaining generally neutral views.
• The company recently reported Q1 earnings of $0.24 per share, missing estimates of $0.33, though revenue rose 2.5% year over year. Equity Residential also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.7025 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 4.1%.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the twenty-three analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $70.80.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on EQR shares. Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Equity Residential from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $69.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, June 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Equity Residential from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Evercore increased their price objective on Equity Residential from $70.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, June 8th.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

NYSE:EQR traded up $0.64 during trading on Friday, reaching $68.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,380,560 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,786,122. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $57.57 and a 12 month high of $71.50. The firm has a market cap of $25.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $66.69 and a 200-day moving average of $63.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.18.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $779.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $781.79 million. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 30.63%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. 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. Research analysts expect that Equity Residential will post 4.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 29th were given a dividend of $0.7025 per share. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 29th. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio is currently 112.40%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Residential

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its position in Equity Residential by 69.2% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 440 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 375.2% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 480 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

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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