Equity Residential $EQR Position Raised by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Equity Residential by 4.9%, owning approximately 376,802 shares valued at $26.97 million by the end of the last quarter.
• Equity Residential reported earnings of $0.99 per share, meeting analyst expectations, with a net margin of 33.22% and revenue of $768.83 million for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6925 per share, with a dividend yield of 4.3%, reflecting a payout ratio of 104.53%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 4.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 376,802 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 17,602 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.10% of Equity Residential worth $26,965,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Equity Residential in the first quarter valued at approximately $165,442,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 53.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,476,004 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $464,718,000 after acquiring an additional 2,246,555 shares during the period. Adelante Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 172.1% in the fourth quarter. Adelante Capital Management LLC now owns 1,077,337 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $77,310,000 after acquiring an additional 681,356 shares during the period. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 79.1% in the fourth quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC now owns 1,161,137 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $83,323,000 after acquiring an additional 512,723 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 7,177.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 506,930 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $36,286,000 after acquiring an additional 499,964 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Equity Residential from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Equity Residential from $76.50 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Scotiabank cut their price target on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $77.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen cut Equity Residential from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.78.

Equity Residential Price Performance

NYSE:EQR traded down $0.2850 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $64.1950. 1,325,138 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,441,021. Equity Residential has a one year low of $59.41 and a one year high of $78.83. The company has a market capitalization of $24.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $66.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $770.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equity Residential has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.970-4.030 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 0.990-1.030 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.98 EPS for the current year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 24th were issued a dividend of $0.6925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 24th. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. Equity Residential's payout ratio is presently 104.53%.

Equity Residential 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.