Equity Residential $EQR Stake Reduced by Korea Investment CORP

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP reduced its stake in Equity Residential by 14.1%, now holding 257,470 shares valued at approximately $18.43 million.
• The firm reported $0.99 earnings per share for the last quarter, meeting analysts' expectations, with revenues of $768.83 million.
• Equity Residential has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6925, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 4.3%.

Korea Investment CORP lessened its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 14.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 257,470 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 42,431 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.07% of Equity Residential worth $18,430,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 51.6% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 461 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Equity Residential in the first quarter worth $37,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC acquired a new position in Equity Residential in the first quarter worth $47,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in Equity Residential in the first quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in Equity Residential in the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EQR traded up $0.9010 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $65.1710. 1,486,806 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,396,367. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $59.41 and a 52 week high of $78.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $66.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.17. The company has a market cap of $24.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.59, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $84.00 to $76.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Equity Residential from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $80.50 price target on shares of Equity Residential and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Equity Residential presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.78.

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.