Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Sees Large Volume Increase – What’s Next?

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 1,161,433 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 35% from the previous session’s volume of 1,799,086 shares.The stock last traded at $70.72 and had previously closed at $69.49.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EQR. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America cut shares of Equity Residential from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $82.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $81.00 target price for the company. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Equity Residential from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Equity Residential has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.14.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $27.07 billion, a PE ratio of 29.24, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $73.80 and its 200 day moving average is $72.18.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 110.66%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,560 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Equity Residential in the 2nd quarter valued at $214,000. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Equity Residential by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 189,329 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,128,000 after buying an additional 4,764 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Equity Residential by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 6,560 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 19,715 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,367,000 after acquiring an additional 2,246 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

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.