Brokerages Set Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) PT at $67.04

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $67.04.

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Raymond James raised Equity Residential from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Barclays lowered their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Monday, April 29th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mary Kay Haben sold 3,241 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.48, for a total transaction of $212,220.68. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $636,465.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 876 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,927.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Kay Haben sold 3,241 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.48, for a total value of $212,220.68. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,720 shares in the company, valued at $636,465.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,860 shares of company stock worth $566,034. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Equity Residential in the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,313,000. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. acquired a new stake in Equity Residential during the first quarter worth approximately $8,249,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its stake in Equity Residential by 104.8% in the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 5,048 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 2,583 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 74.6% in the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 245,812 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $15,513,000 after acquiring an additional 105,029 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity Residential Stock Up 0.5 %

EQR stock opened at $65.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $25.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.35, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $62.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.02. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $52.57 and a 12 month high of $69.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

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

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th were paid a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 22nd. This is a boost from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.03%.

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.