Sophron Capital Management L.P. Purchases Shares of 218,269 Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Sophron Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 218,269 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $15,663,000. Equity Residential accounts for about 6.2% of Sophron Capital Management L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Sophron Capital Management L.P. owned about 0.06% of Equity Residential as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the 4th quarter worth $2,493,426,000. APG Asset Management US Inc. grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. now owns 11,664,576 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $837,050,000 after buying an additional 57,660 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,519,627 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $681,594,000 after buying an additional 165,683 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,897,863 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $566,749,000 after buying an additional 152,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,522,442 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $468,050,000 after buying an additional 696,343 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EQR. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Equity Residential from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $79.69.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of Equity Residential stock traded down $0.70 on Thursday, reaching $68.23. 1,646,300 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,730,828. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Equity Residential has a twelve month low of $59.41 and a twelve month high of $78.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.09, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $68.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.84.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.02. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 9.27% and a net margin of 34.76%. The firm had revenue of $760.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $769.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.6925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.06%. Equity Residential's payout ratio is presently 105.73%.

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.