Equity Residential $EQR Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group cut its Equity Residential stake by 11.1% in the first quarter, selling 90,727 shares and leaving it with 727,533 shares valued at about $43.0 million.
• Equity Residential reported Q1 earnings of $0.24 per share, missing analyst expectations of $0.33, while revenue came in roughly in line at $779.85 million and rose 2.5% year over year.
• The REIT recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.7025 per share, or $2.81 annualized, for a yield of about 4.1%; however, its payout ratio is elevated at 112.4%.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 11.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 727,533 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 90,727 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.19% of Equity Residential worth $43,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EQR. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,201,674,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 227.7% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 7,405,502 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $466,869,000 after purchasing an additional 5,145,442 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Equity Residential by 876.0% in the third 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 buying an additional 4,039,752 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,852,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its stake in 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 in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity Residential Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of EQR stock opened at $68.99 on Friday. Equity Residential has a 12-month low of $57.57 and a 12-month high of $71.50. The company has a market capitalization of $25.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.59, a P/E/G ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $67.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.75. 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 released its quarterly 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 net margin of 30.63% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The business had revenue of $779.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $781.79 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter 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. Research analysts forecast that Equity Residential will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 29th were paid a dividend of $0.7025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 29th. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Equity Residential's payout ratio is 112.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EQR. Wolfe Research raised shares of Equity Residential from a "hold" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Equity Residential from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Equity Residential from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.80.

Equity Residential 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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