Rafferty Asset Management LLC Reduces Position in Equity Residential $EQR

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC has reduced its stake in Equity Residential (EQR) by 17.1%, holding 37,260 shares valued at approximately $2.67 million after selling 7,671 shares in the first quarter.
• Equity Residential recently reported $0.99 earnings per share, meeting analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $768.83 million, a 4.7% increase year-over-year.
• The company's dividend yield stands at 4.2% with a recent payout of $0.6925 per share, but has a dividend payout ratio exceeding 100% at 104.53%.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 17.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,260 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 7,671 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Equity Residential were worth $2,667,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Equity Residential by 51.6% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 461 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring 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 approximately $37,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Equity Residential during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Equity Residential during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in Equity Residential by 27.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $76.50 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $80.50 price objective on shares of Equity Residential and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Barclays decreased 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $76.90.

Equity Residential Price Performance

NYSE EQR traded up $0.91 on Thursday, hitting $65.58. The company had a trading volume of 1,391,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,894,288. The company has a market capitalization of $25.05 billion, a PE ratio of 24.75, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.93. The company's fifty day moving average price is $65.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.17. 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 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. The company had revenue of $768.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.60 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 33.22% and a return on equity of 9.05%. The firm's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. 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, analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

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