Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Price Target Raised to $76.00

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) had its price target boosted by research analysts at Evercore ISI from $75.00 to $76.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “in-line” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price target would indicate a potential downside of 2.75% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on EQR. BNP Paribas started coverage on Equity Residential in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Equity Residential from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Equity Residential from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $81.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $75.38.

Equity Residential Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:EQR traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $78.15. 233,614 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,899,347. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $52.57 and a 12 month high of $78.84. The company has a market cap of $29.66 billion, a PE ratio of 32.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.21 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $71.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.15.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by ($0.49). Equity Residential had a return on equity of 8.53% and a net margin of 32.83%. The company had revenue of $734.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $735.26 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. Equity Residential’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In other Equity Residential news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 6,357 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total value of $439,141.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,006,910.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 1.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,267,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,279,095,000 after buying an additional 381,236 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. now owns 11,598,251 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $709,349,000 after purchasing an additional 71,716 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Equity Residential by 482.3% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,153,749 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $496,040,000 after purchasing an additional 5,925,177 shares during the last quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Equity Residential by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 5,527,431 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $338,058,000 after purchasing an additional 309,796 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,001,360 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $346,794,000 after buying an additional 60,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

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.