Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Short Interest Up 16.2% in February

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 6,670,000 shares, a growth of 16.2% from the February 13th total of 5,740,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,580,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.2 days. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on EQR. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price objective on Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays decreased their target price on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank raised their price target on 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 lowered their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $78.51.

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Equity Residential Price Performance

EQR stock traded down $0.33 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $69.85. The company had a trading volume of 3,054,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,583,400. Equity Residential has a 1-year low of $59.48 and a 1-year high of $78.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $70.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $26.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.6925 dividend. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. This is a boost from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.84%.

Insider Activity at Equity Residential

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 shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $384,800.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,507 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,558,634.42. This trade represents a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at $1,840,340.34. This represents a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Residential

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 8.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,745,615 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $576,737,000 after buying an additional 591,866 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Equity Residential by 2,529.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 16.1% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 129,125 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $9,615,000 after purchasing an additional 17,948 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 7.3% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 50,817 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,784,000 after purchasing an additional 3,437 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,713 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $500,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.