Two Sigma Investments LP Sells 12,844 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Two Sigma Investments LP reduced its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 77.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,706 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 12,844 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP's holdings in Equity Residential were worth $266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of EQR. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 13,200 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $947,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 141,023 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $10,034,000 after buying an additional 11,765 shares in the last quarter. Starwood Capital Group Management L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Starwood Capital Group Management L.L.C. now owns 339,338 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $24,351,000 after buying an additional 70,500 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 182,560 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $13,101,000 after buying an additional 12,654 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in Equity Residential during the 4th quarter valued at $223,000. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho cut their target price on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $71.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Equity Residential from $82.25 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Equity Residential from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Equity Residential currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.25.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

NYSE EQR traded down $1.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $68.77. 1,586,511 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,719,274. The business's fifty day moving average price is $68.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.90. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $59.41 and a 52 week high of $78.84.

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

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 24th will be given a $0.6925 dividend. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.03%. Equity Residential's payout ratio is currently 105.73%.

Equity Residential 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.