Royal Bank of Canada Lowers Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Price Target to $79.00

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) had its price target lowered by Royal Bank of Canada from $83.00 to $79.00 in a report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

EQR has been the subject of a number of other reports. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $83.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Equity Residential from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.19.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of Equity Residential stock opened at $69.12 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.33, a PEG ratio of 5.88 and a beta of 0.90. Equity Residential has a 1-year low of $53.28 and a 1-year high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 24th were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 24th. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is 110.66%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Residential

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of EQR. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in Equity Residential in the 1st quarter valued at $414,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 16.9% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 9,211 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $581,000 after purchasing an additional 1,329 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 17,469 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,102,000 after purchasing an additional 4,269 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 105,753 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,272,000 after purchasing an additional 7,790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 569,829 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,962,000 after purchasing an additional 152,736 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.