FY2024 EPS Estimates for Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Raised by Analyst

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) – Research analysts at Wedbush raised their FY2024 EPS estimates for shares of Equity Residential in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, April 29th. Wedbush analyst R. Anderson now expects that the real estate investment trust will earn $3.95 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $3.87. Wedbush has a “Neutral” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Equity Residential’s current full-year earnings is $3.85 per share.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Equity Residential from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Barclays lowered their price target on Equity Residential from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Equity Residential from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.04.

Equity Residential Price Performance

EQR opened at $64.04 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $62.24 and a 200 day moving average of $59.93. The stock has a market cap of $24.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.57, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $52.57 and a 52-week high of $69.45.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 31.70%. The business had revenue of $730.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $728.09 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EQR. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Equity Residential during the 4th quarter worth about $2,143,388,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 68.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,416,565 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $259,297,000 after purchasing an additional 1,795,772 shares during the last quarter. Davis Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the fourth quarter worth about $61,160,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in Equity Residential by 13.8% in the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,206,249 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $305,659,000 after buying an additional 629,813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Equity Residential by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 9,325,268 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $570,333,000 after acquiring an additional 516,941 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 876 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total transaction of $50,632.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 20,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,927.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 876 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total value of $50,632.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,927.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Alexander Brackenridge sold 4,027 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total value of $261,795.27. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 69,901 shares in the company, valued at $4,544,264.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,548 shares of company stock worth $666,351. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.22%. This is a positive change from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is presently 112.03%.

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.