Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Receives $78.51 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the seventeen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $79.01.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EQR. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price target on Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equity Residential news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $384,800.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at $2,558,634.42. This trade represents a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $46,262.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,840,340.34. The trade was a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 6.3% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,246 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Equity Residential by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 81,272 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,817,000 after buying an additional 857 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 701,418 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $50,208,000 after acquiring an additional 4,878 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 60.4% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 39,597 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,834,000 after acquiring an additional 14,915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems raised its position in shares of Equity Residential by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 25,786 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,846,000 after acquiring an additional 2,341 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity Residential Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE EQR traded up $0.57 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $69.50. 1,665,837 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,715,378. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $69.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $26.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $59.41 and a 52-week high of $78.84.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.6925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.99%. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio is 101.84%.

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.