Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Stock Rating Upgraded by Stifel Nicolaus

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) was upgraded by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $81.50 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $77.75. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 11.55% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on EQR. Wells Fargo & Company cut Equity Residential from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $69.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, August 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $81.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.42.

Equity Residential Price Performance

NYSE EQR opened at $73.06 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $74.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.60. The stock has a market cap of $27.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $53.74 and a 52 week high of $78.83.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EQR. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Equity Residential by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,267,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,279,095,000 after purchasing an additional 381,236 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Equity Residential in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,893,000. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Equity Residential by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,715,151 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $171,368,000 after acquiring an additional 112,270 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new stake in Equity Residential during the 1st quarter worth about $2,841,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Equity Residential by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,001,360 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $346,794,000 after acquiring an additional 60,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.