Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,560,000 shares, a growth of 18.3% from the October 31st total of 4,700,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,580,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Residential

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Equity Residential by 2,529.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 69.6% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 475 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.25.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

NYSE EQR traded down $0.72 on Tuesday, reaching $74.52. 155,810 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,826,493. The firm has a market cap of $28.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.84, a P/E/G ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $74.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $57.33 and a fifty-two week high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 24th were issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 24th. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 110.66%.

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.