Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) PT Raised to $82.00 at UBS Group

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) had its price target increased by UBS Group from $75.00 to $82.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on EQR. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $67.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and raised their target price for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Equity Residential from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and increased their price target for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday, June 28th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $69.53.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of EQR opened at $70.14 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $67.06 and its 200-day moving average is $63.62. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $52.57 and a 12 month high of $71.17. The firm has a market cap of $26.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Equity Residential had a net margin of 31.70% and a return on equity of 8.18%. The business had revenue of $730.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $728.09 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. Equity Residential’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Equity Residential will post 3.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st were issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 1st. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is 112.03%.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In related news, EVP Alexander Brackenridge sold 4,027 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total transaction of $261,795.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 69,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,544,264.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Alexander Brackenridge sold 4,027 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total transaction of $261,795.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 69,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,544,264.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert Garechana sold 6,357 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total transaction of $439,141.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,006,910.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 13,625 shares of company stock valued at $913,158. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Residential

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Equity Residential in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Equity Residential in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Equity Residential by 120.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 488 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in Equity Residential by 41.9% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 525 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Equity Residential in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.