Equity Residential $EQR Shares Bought by Forsta AP Fonden

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden increased its stake in Equity Residential by 31.1% in the fourth quarter, adding 45,700 shares and bringing its total holding to 192,500 shares worth about $12.1 million.
• Equity Residential reported mixed quarterly results, missing EPS estimates with $0.24 per share versus $0.33 expected, while revenue came in close to forecasts at $779.85 million and rose 2.5% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.7025 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 4.3%, while analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $69.90.

Forsta AP Fonden raised its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 31.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 192,500 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 45,700 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden owned about 0.05% of Equity Residential worth $12,135,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Equity Residential by 2.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,597,658 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,728,296,000 after buying an additional 1,281,354 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the fourth quarter worth about $2,201,674,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 2.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,922,935 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,630,103,000 after purchasing an additional 688,854 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,258,275 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $644,412,000 after purchasing an additional 114,604 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 9,242,013 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $582,617,000 after purchasing an additional 44,127 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Equity Residential Stock Up 0.0%

EQR stock opened at $65.48 on Monday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $62.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.18. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $57.57 and a fifty-two week high of $70.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.19, a PEG ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 0.75.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.09). Equity Residential had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 30.63%.The firm had revenue of $779.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $781.79 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. 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. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 30th were paid a dividend of $0.7025 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 30th. This is a positive change from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Equity Residential's payout ratio is currently 112.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on EQR. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Equity Residential from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $72.00 price target (down from $78.00) on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Friday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Equity Residential currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.90.

Equity Residential Company Profile

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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