Centersquare Investment Management LLC Has $306.18 Million Stock Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Key Points

• Centersquare Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Equity Residential by 4.1%, selling 180,603 shares, and now holds about 4.27 million shares worth approximately $306 million.
• Equity Residential reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.99 for the last quarter, meeting consensus estimates, with revenues of $768.83 million, a 4.7% increase compared to the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6925 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 4.4%, while its dividend payout ratio stands at 105.73%.

Centersquare Investment Management LLC lowered its position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,277,430 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 180,603 shares during the quarter. Equity Residential makes up approximately 3.2% of Centersquare Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Centersquare Investment Management LLC owned about 1.13% of Equity Residential worth $306,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 51.6% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 461 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 27.6% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 740 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 38.8% during the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 765 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Equity Residential Stock Down 1.1%

Equity Residential stock traded down $0.70 on Friday, hitting $63.19. 1,337,577 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,193,361. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $24.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.92. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $67.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.89. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $59.41 and a 1 year high of $78.83.

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, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.99. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 9.05% and a net margin of 33.22%. The firm had revenue of $768.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $770.60 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Equity Residential will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 24th were issued a dividend of $0.6925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 24th. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EQR. Wall Street Zen lowered Equity Residential from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Barclays increased their price objective on Equity Residential from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $71.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on Equity Residential from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $78.43.

About Equity Residential

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.