Equity Residential $EQR Shares Purchased by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Equity Residential by 60.4% during Q1, owning approximately 0.22% of the company, which translates to about $58.7 million.
• Recent analyst ratings show a mix of opinions, with Wall Street Zen downgrading the stock to a "sell," while others like Stifel Nicolaus maintain a "buy" rating with a target price of $80.50.
• The company recently reported a 4.7% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, achieving an EPS of $0.99, consistent with analysts' expectations.

Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 60.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 820,320 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 308,879 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.22% of Equity Residential worth $58,717,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake 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 valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 27.6% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 740 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 4.4% in 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 during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its position in Equity Residential by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 10,733 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $768,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 2.9% during the 1st 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 during the period. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equity Residential Price Performance

NYSE:EQR traded down $0.72 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $65.90. 1,560,932 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,885,826. The company has a market capitalization of $25.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Equity Residential has a one year low of $59.41 and a one year high of $78.83. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $65.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.97.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.99. The company had revenue of $768.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $770.60 million. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 9.05% and a net margin of 33.22%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.98 EPS for the current year.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 24th were given a $0.6925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 24th. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. Equity Residential's payout ratio is 104.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on EQR shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $71.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price target on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $77.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Equity Residential presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $76.46.

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.