Swedbank AB Increases Stock Position in Equity Residential $EQR

Key Points

• Swedbank AB increased its stake in Equity Residential (EQR) by 186.2%, owning 73,425 shares valued at approximately $4.95 million as of its last SEC filing.
• Equity Residential announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6925 per share, with an annualized yield of 4.3%, despite a dividend payout ratio exceeding 100%.
• The stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" among analysts, with target prices adjusted downwards by several firms, indicating a cautious outlook for the REIT.

Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 186.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,425 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 47,771 shares during the period. Swedbank AB's holdings in Equity Residential were worth $4,955,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. TCW Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 40.4% during the first quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 83,417 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,971,000 after purchasing an additional 23,997 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 6.3% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,246 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 39.1% during the first quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 86,203 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $6,170,000 after purchasing an additional 24,232 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 11.0% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 845,820 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $60,544,000 after purchasing an additional 83,788 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 9.0% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 54,271 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,885,000 after purchasing an additional 4,499 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $76.50 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $75.25.

Equity Residential Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of EQR stock traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $65.28. 1,937,101 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,970,349. Equity Residential has a 12-month low of $59.41 and a 12-month high of $78.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company's 50-day moving average price is $65.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.93.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99. The firm had revenue of $768.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company 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, equities analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 25th will be given a $0.6925 dividend. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 25th. Equity Residential's payout ratio is 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.