Consolidated Investment Group LLC Invests $1.65 Million in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Consolidated Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 23,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,646,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 607.8% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 361 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the period. 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. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 38.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 109.5% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 551 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity Residential Trading Down 2.8%

EQR stock traded down $1.89 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $65.65. 4,190,646 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,734,022. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $69.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.94. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $59.41 and a 1 year high of $78.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.90.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $760.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $769.43 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 33.11% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The business's revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 24th will be issued a $0.6925 dividend. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.22%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 24th. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EQR. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. 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 upped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $71.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $79.25.

Equity Residential Company 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.