Starwood Capital Group Management L.L.C. Acquires 70,500 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Starwood Capital Group Management L.L.C. increased its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 26.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 339,338 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 70,500 shares during the period. Equity Residential accounts for approximately 14.9% of Starwood Capital Group Management L.L.C.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Starwood Capital Group Management L.L.C. owned approximately 0.09% of Equity Residential worth $24,351,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 182,560 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $13,101,000 after buying an additional 12,654 shares during the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the fourth quarter valued at $223,000. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 83,759 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $6,011,000 after purchasing an additional 5,743 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 328.6% in the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 100,831 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $7,236,000 after purchasing an additional 77,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mufg Securities Americas Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the fourth quarter valued at $362,000. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. 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. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $82.25 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $79.69.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Equity Residential stock traded down $2.16 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $68.95. 1,514,959 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,730,961. The company has a market cap of $26.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Equity Residential has a twelve month low of $59.41 and a twelve month high of $78.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $68.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.86.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.02. The firm 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 34.76% and a return on equity of 9.27%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Equity Residential will post 3.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.6925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.02%. This is a boost from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio is 105.73%.

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.