Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 114,604 Shares of Equity Residential $EQR

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management boosted its Equity Residential stake by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 114,604 shares and bringing its total holdings to 10.26 million shares worth about $644.4 million.
• Equity Residential reported first-quarter earnings of $0.24 per share, missing Wall Street’s $0.33 estimate, though revenue came in roughly in line and was up 2.5% year over year.
• The REIT raised its quarterly dividend to $0.7025 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 4.3%, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $69.90.

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,258,275 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 114,604 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.70% of Equity Residential worth $644,412,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 2.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,281,354 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 34.6% during the third quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 568,408 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $36,446,000 after purchasing an additional 146,148 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at $9,094,000. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 4.6% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 605,494 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $39,194,000 after purchasing an additional 26,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at $4,232,000. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equity Residential Stock Down 1.2%

EQR stock opened at $65.48 on Friday. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $57.57 and a fifty-two week high of $70.31. The business's 50-day moving average is $62.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.18. The company has a market cap of $24.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.19, a P/E/G ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 0.76.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 30.63% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The firm had revenue of $779.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $781.79 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. As a group, analysts forecast that Equity Residential will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 30th were issued a $0.7025 dividend. 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 yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 30th. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio is currently 112.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on EQR shares. Bank of America raised Equity Residential from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $76.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Equity Residential from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $72.00 price target (down from $78.00) on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Equity Residential from $78.25 to $79.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Equity Residential from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.90.

About Equity Residential

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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