Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Rating Increased to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) was upgraded by stock analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $81.50 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their previous target price of $77.75. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective points to a potential upside of 11.54% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently commented on EQR. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group raised their price target on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Equity Residential in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $81.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut Equity Residential from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $77.00 in a report on Monday, August 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.25.

Equity Residential Price Performance

NYSE EQR opened at $73.07 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $54.53 and a 12 month high of $78.83. The stock has a market cap of $27.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.26, a PEG ratio of 5.94 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50 day moving average is $74.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.63.

Institutional Trading of Equity Residential

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EQR. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Equity Residential by 2,529.4% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 69.6% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 475 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 41.9% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 525 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.