Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Takes $2.86 Million Position in Equity Residential $EQR

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC has acquired approximately $2.86 million worth of shares in Equity Residential, purchasing 42,383 shares during the second quarter.
• Equity Residential has reported a quarterly dividend of $0.6925, set to be paid on October 10th, resulting in an annualized yield of 4.5%.
• Wall Street analysts project mixed sentiment for Equity Residential, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price averaging $74.32.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC bought a new position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 42,383 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $2,860,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,858 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in Equity Residential by 1.6% in the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 10,733 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $768,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Equity Residential by 2.9% during the first quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,283 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $450,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Equity Residential by 24.8% during the first quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 896 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,246 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $76.50 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Equity Residential from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $75.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered shares of Equity Residential from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.32.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of EQR stock opened at $62.23 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $64.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.07. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $59.41 and a 52-week high of $78.32. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $23.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.90.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 9.05% and a net margin of 33.22%.The business had revenue of $768.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. The business's 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. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 25th will be given a $0.6925 dividend. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 25th. Equity Residential's payout ratio is 104.53%.

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.

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