Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $78.51.

A number of brokerages have commented on EQR. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price objective on Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th.

Equity Residential Price Performance

EQR stock opened at $68.16 on Friday. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $59.41 and a 1 year high of $78.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.88 billion, a PE ratio of 25.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50-day moving average is $69.83 and its 200-day moving average is $71.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.6925 dividend. This is an increase from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.06%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $46,262.52. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,840,340.34. This represents a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $384,800.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,558,634.42. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equity Residential

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Seven Post Investment Office LP increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 0.9% in the first quarter. Seven Post Investment Office LP now owns 317,040 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $22,694,000 after purchasing an additional 2,977 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 226,760 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $16,231,000 after acquiring an additional 55,394 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 314.1% during the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 27,446 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,965,000 after purchasing an additional 20,818 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Equity Residential by 4.3% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,599 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,474,000 after purchasing an additional 850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV lifted its position in Equity Residential by 3.1% during the first quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 35,033 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

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.