Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Upgraded by StockNews.com to "Hold" Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on EQR. Barclays dropped their price objective on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Equity Residential from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $77.75 to $81.50 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $78.36.

Equity Residential Stock Up 0.7 %

EQR stock traded up $0.53 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $71.44. 1,234,972 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,711,158. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Equity Residential has a 12-month low of $57.33 and a 12-month high of $78.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $70.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.93.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of the business'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 $309,425.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,016,622.48. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at $1,840,340.34. This represents a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Residential

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vert Asset Management LLC raised its position in Equity Residential by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 150,245 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $10,782,000 after buying an additional 10,472 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at $923,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Equity Residential by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,707 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in Equity Residential by 12.3% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 129,258 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $9,625,000 after buying an additional 14,109 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Equity Residential by 3.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,008,341 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $298,461,000 after purchasing an additional 124,795 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.