Candriam S.C.A. Lowers Stock Holdings in Equity Residential $EQR

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. has significantly reduced its stake in Equity Residential by 65%, now holding 41,496 shares valued at approximately $2.97 million.
• Equity Residential's quarterly earnings report showed earnings per share of $0.99, matching analysts’ expectations, with revenue increasing by 4.7% from the same quarter last year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6925 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $2.77 and a yield of 4.3%, despite a payout ratio exceeding 100%.

Candriam S.C.A. cut its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 65.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,496 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 77,212 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $2,970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TCW Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 40.4% during the first quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 83,417 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,971,000 after purchasing an additional 23,997 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 6.3% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,246 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 39.1% during the first quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 86,203 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $6,170,000 after purchasing an additional 24,232 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 11.0% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 845,820 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $60,544,000 after purchasing an additional 83,788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 9.0% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 54,271 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,885,000 after purchasing an additional 4,499 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on EQR shares. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $77.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.78.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of Equity Residential stock traded down $0.23 on Tuesday, hitting $64.57. 5,972,521 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,955,729. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.66 billion, a PE ratio of 24.37, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.92. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $59.41 and a 1 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.99. The business had revenue of $768.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $770.60 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 33.22% and a return on equity of 9.05%. The company's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.97 EPS. Equity Residential has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.970-4.030 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 0.990-1.030 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.98 EPS for the current year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 24th were paid a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 24th. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 104.53%.

Equity Residential 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.