Fox Run Management L.L.C. Makes New Investment in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Key Points

• Fox Run Management L.L.C. has acquired a new stake in Equity Residential, purchasing 22,286 shares valued at approximately $1,595,000.
• Equity Residential reported a net margin of 33.22% and a revenue increase of 4.7% year-over-year, with an earnings per share of $0.99 for the last quarter.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6925 per share, representing a 4.3% yield, with a payout ratio currently at 104.53%.

Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 22,286 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,595,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EQR. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in 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 worth $33,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Equity Residential during the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Equity Residential during the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in Equity Residential during the 4th quarter worth $51,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 27.6% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 740 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on EQR. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $71.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Equity Residential from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $77.78.

Equity Residential Stock Up 0.9%

EQR stock traded up $0.60 during trading on Friday, reaching $64.11. 3,890,265 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,275,611. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.17. The company has a market capitalization of $24.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.69. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $59.41 and a 12 month high of $78.83.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.99. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 9.05% and a net margin of 33.22%. The company had revenue of $768.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $770.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 24th were issued a $0.6925 dividend. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 24th. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 104.53%.

About Equity Residential

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.