Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Trims Stock Position in Equity Residential $EQR

Key Points

• Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ has reduced its stake in Equity Residential by 8.9%, holding approximately $7.81 million worth of shares after selling 10,690 shares in the first quarter.
• Institutional ownership of Equity Residential is high, with 92.68% of its stock held by institutional investors and hedge funds, indicating significant confidence in the company.
• The company has set an earnings guidance of $3.970-4.030 EPS for FY 2025, with an average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $77.16.

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ reduced its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 8.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 109,062 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 10,690 shares during the period. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ's holdings in Equity Residential were worth $7,807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EQR. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in Equity Residential by 194.4% during the fourth quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 196,274 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $14,085,000 after purchasing an additional 129,598 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 80.0% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 163,143 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $11,707,000 after acquiring an additional 72,513 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 1,568.2% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 332,434 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $23,855,000 after acquiring an additional 312,506 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 477,452 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $34,262,000 after acquiring an additional 24,857 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 33.2% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 752,638 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $54,009,000 after acquiring an additional 187,773 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $71.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $80.50 price target on shares of Equity Residential and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.90.

Equity Residential Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE EQR traded up $0.69 on Thursday, hitting $65.36. 611,735 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,931,265. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $59.41 and a fifty-two week high of $78.83. The company has a market cap of $24.96 billion, a PE ratio of 24.64, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $65.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.14.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.99. Equity Residential had a net margin of 33.22% and a return on equity of 9.05%. The company had revenue of $768.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $770.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. The firm'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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 24th were issued a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 24th. Equity Residential's payout ratio is 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.