Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) PT Raised to $70.00

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) had its price target lifted by Evercore ISI from $67.00 to $70.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on EQR. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and raised their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Piper Sandler reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $66.04.

Equity Residential Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Equity Residential stock opened at $65.14 on Thursday. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $52.57 and a 1 year high of $69.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $24.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.03, a PEG ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s fifty day moving average is $61.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.84.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. Equity Residential had a net margin of 31.70% and a return on equity of 8.18%. The company had revenue of $730.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $728.09 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. Equity Residential’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Equity Residential will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th were issued a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.14%. This is a boost from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 22nd. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is 112.03%.

Insider Activity

In other Equity Residential news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 716 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total transaction of $41,384.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,384,252.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 1,639 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.43, for a total value of $97,405.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 31,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,845,479.79. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 716 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total value of $41,384.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 23,949 shares in the company, valued at $1,384,252.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,280 shares of company stock worth $192,335 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Equity Residential during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Equity Residential by 593.9% during the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Equity Residential by 120.8% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 488 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in Equity Residential during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc purchased a new position in Equity Residential during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.