Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on EQR. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Equity Residential from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $78.50 price target on Equity Residential in a report on Friday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Equity Residential from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.78.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EQR opened at $63.19 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $23.86 billion, a PE ratio of 21.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 0.76. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $58.38 and a 1 year high of $75.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $62.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $781.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $786.35 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 9.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. Equity Residential has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.940-0.980 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.020-4.140 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Equity Residential

In other Equity Residential news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 5,765 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total transaction of $375,474.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 46,131 shares in the company, valued at $3,004,512.03. This trade represents a 11.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Robert Garechana sold 3,637 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total transaction of $236,877.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,220,536.20. The trade was a 16.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 10,058 shares of company stock valued at $655,078 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Equity Residential during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $298,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 89,109 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,553,000 after purchasing an additional 5,348 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 34,144 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,152,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 27.4% during the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 1,058,213 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $65,948,000 after buying an additional 227,806 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Equity Residential by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 89,663 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,682,000 after buying an additional 17,465 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Company Profile

Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that acquires, develops, owns and operates rental apartment properties. Headquartered in Chicago, the company focuses on delivering professionally managed, market-rate apartment homes and related services to renters. Its operations cover a range of property types, including high-rise and mid-rise assets, with amenities and on-site management designed to support resident retention and occupancy.

The company’s core activities include property acquisitions, development and redevelopment, leasing, and day-to-day property management.