Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Price Target Raised to $78.00

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) had its target price hoisted by investment analysts at Truist Financial from $76.00 to $78.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Truist Financial’s price target suggests a potential upside of 7.90% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price target on Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on 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. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price 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. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.51.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

NYSE EQR traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $72.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 89,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,587,326. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $59.48 and a 12 month high of $78.84. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $27.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $309,425.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,016,622.48. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $46,262.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,840,340.34. The trade was a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Equity Residential

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 607.8% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Equity Residential in the third quarter worth $40,000. 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.