Cohen & Steers Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Equity Residential $EQR

Key Points

• Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its Equity Residential stake by 227.7% in the fourth quarter, ending with 7.4 million shares valued at about $466.9 million.
• Institutional ownership in Equity Residential remains very high, with 92.68% of the stock held by hedge funds and other large investors. Several other major firms, including Norges Bank and JPMorgan Chase, also added to their positions.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans cautious: the stock has an average rating of Hold with a consensus price target of $70.55. Equity Residential also recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.7025 per share, implying a 4.2% annual yield.

Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 227.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,405,502 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 5,145,442 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. owned about 1.95% of Equity Residential worth $466,869,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,201,674,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 876.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,500,885 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $291,342,000 after purchasing an additional 4,039,752 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 797.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,085,406 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $134,988,000 after purchasing an additional 1,852,970 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 353.5% in the 3rd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,002,892 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $129,647,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561,241 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,205,039 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $265,086,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315,654 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on EQR shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Equity Residential from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Nordea Equity Research raised shares of Equity Residential to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Equity Residential from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.55.

Equity Residential Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE EQR opened at $67.32 on Friday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $64.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.67. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $57.57 and a 52-week high of $70.15. The firm has a market cap of $25.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

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

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 30th were paid a dividend of $0.7025 per share. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. This is a boost from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 30th. Equity Residential's payout ratio is presently 112.40%.

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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