Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Stock Rating Upgraded by Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley upgraded Equity Residential from "equal weight" to "overweight" and raised its price target to $74 (from $72), implying roughly a 26.6% upside from current levels.
• Equity Residential slightly missed the quarter (Q4 EPS $1.03 vs. $1.04 expected) with revenue up 2% year-over-year; management guided Q1 2026 EPS of $0.940–0.980 and FY2026 EPS of $4.020–4.140, while analysts forecast about 3.98 EPS for the year.
• Insiders sold shares recently (EVP and COO sold a combined ~6,421 shares on Feb. 10), insiders own about 1.10% of the stock, and institutional investors hold roughly 92.7% of shares.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $74.00 target price on the real estate investment trust's stock, up from their previous target price of $72.00. Morgan Stanley's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 26.58% from the company's current price.

EQR has been the subject of several other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $78.50 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Friday, February 6th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Equity Residential from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $63.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Evercore raised their price target on Equity Residential from $69.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on Equity Residential from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. One equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $69.73.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of Equity Residential stock opened at $58.46 on Thursday. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $57.57 and a 12 month high of $72.64. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $62.01 and a 200 day moving average of $62.07. The firm has a market cap of $22.07 billion, a PE ratio of 19.95, a PEG ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.75.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $781.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $786.35 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 9.98%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. 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. On average, research analysts expect that Equity Residential will post 3.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $42,725.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,194,419.07. The trade was a 3.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 5,765 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total value of $375,474.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 46,131 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,058 shares of company stock valued at $655,078. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Collier Financial purchased a new position in Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 375.2% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 480 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Equity Residential in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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