Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Receives $78.69 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $78.69.

Several research analysts recently commented on EQR shares. Bank of America lowered shares of Equity Residential from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. StockNews.com lowered Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of EQR stock opened at $67.04 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $25.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.48, a PEG ratio of 5.94 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $72.66 and its 200 day moving average is $72.50. Equity Residential has a 1-year low of $57.33 and a 1-year high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.03%. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is 110.66%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Equity Residential during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 2,529.4% in 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 purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 69.6% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 475 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.