Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Price Target Raised to $79.00 at Scotiabank

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) had its price objective increased by equities research analysts at Scotiabank from $78.00 to $79.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “sector perform” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Scotiabank’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 10.38% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.42.

Equity Residential Stock Up 0.1 %

EQR traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $71.57. 537,238 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,618,909. The company has a market cap of $27.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.93. Equity Residential has a one year low of $58.81 and a one year high of $78.83. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $70.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equity Residential news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $46,262.52. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at $1,840,340.34. This represents a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $384,800.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at $2,558,634.42. This trade represents a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EQR. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,493,426,000. State Street Corp grew its position in Equity Residential by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,922,127 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,796,976,000 after acquiring an additional 321,002 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. now owns 11,664,576 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $837,050,000 after acquiring an additional 57,660 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,519,627 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $681,594,000 after acquiring an additional 165,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,897,863 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $566,749,000 after purchasing an additional 152,248 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.