Federated Hermes Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Federated Hermes Inc. decreased its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 35.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,309 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 708 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $91,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EQR. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Equity Residential during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in Equity Residential by 41.9% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 525 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 146.6% during the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 550 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the period. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Equity Residential during the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

EQR opened at $75.20 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.87. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $52.57 and a 52-week high of $78.83. The company has a market cap of $28.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.20, a PEG ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by ($0.49). The firm had revenue of $734.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $735.26 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 32.83% and a return on equity of 8.53%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 24th will be issued a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 24th. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is currently 112.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America lowered Equity Residential from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $78.00 to $82.00 in a report on Tuesday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.97.

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.