Brokerages Set Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Price Target at $78.36

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the nineteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $78.36.

A number of analysts have weighed in on EQR shares. Barclays lowered their price target on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,340,238 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $167,936,000 after buying an additional 32,651 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Funds Management LTD bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the 4th quarter valued at $2,206,000. Winebrenner Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the 4th quarter valued at $718,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 248,570 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $17,837,000 after purchasing an additional 34,395 shares during the period. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 4,426 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity Residential Trading Up 0.6 %

EQR stock opened at $70.72 on Friday. Equity Residential has a 1-year low of $57.33 and a 1-year high of $78.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The business’s 50 day moving average is $71.37 and its 200-day moving average is $72.71. The firm has a market cap of $26.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.98, a P/E/G ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.93.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.82%. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is 110.66%.

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.