Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Price Target Raised to $70.00

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) had its price target upped by Piper Sandler from $62.00 to $70.00 in a research report report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a buy rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Raymond James upgraded shares of Equity Residential from an underperform rating to a market perform rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $67.04.

Equity Residential Stock Up 0.2 %

EQR opened at $65.30 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $24.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.84. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $52.57 and a fifty-two week 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $62.10 and its 200 day moving average is $59.87.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $730.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $728.09 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 31.70% and a return on equity of 8.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Equity Residential will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th were issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.13%. This is an increase from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is presently 112.03%.

Insider Activity at Equity Residential

In related news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 1,639 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.43, for a total transaction of $97,405.77. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 31,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,845,479.79. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Equity Residential news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 876 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total value of $50,632.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,927.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 1,639 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.43, for a total transaction of $97,405.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 31,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,845,479.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,280 shares of company stock worth $192,335. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Equity Residential by 593.9% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 120.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 488 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.