Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Upgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on EQR. Mizuho cut their price target on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.36.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Equity Residential stock opened at $70.90 on Friday. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $57.33 and a 12 month high of $78.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.13. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.90 billion, a PE ratio of 26.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.93.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is currently 99.26%.

Insider Activity at Equity Residential

In related news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $683,728.09. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,930,106.67. This represents a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,558,634.42. This trade represents a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Residential

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of EQR. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Equity Residential by 806.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,259,145 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $317,136,000 after acquiring an additional 3,789,234 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 1,459.8% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,949,473 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $145,158,000 after acquiring an additional 1,824,494 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 29.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,746,494 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $576,804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,741,840 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Equity Residential by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,745,615 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $576,737,000 after buying an additional 591,866 shares during the period. Finally, Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 2,193.2% during the 3rd quarter. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC now owns 416,647 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,024,000 after purchasing an additional 398,478 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

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.