Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Upgraded to Outperform at BMO Capital Markets

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) was upgraded by equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $70.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their prior target price of $68.00. BMO Capital Markets’ price target suggests a potential upside of 10.95% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on EQR. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Equity Residential from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $64.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Equity Residential from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.75.

Equity Residential Price Performance

NYSE:EQR opened at $63.09 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $61.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.74. The firm has a market cap of $23.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.68, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. Equity Residential has a one year low of $52.57 and a one year high of $69.45.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $730.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $728.09 million. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 29.07%. The company’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Equity Residential will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In other news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 876 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total value of $50,632.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,927.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 876 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total value of $50,632.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,927.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 1,639 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.43, for a total value of $97,405.77. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 31,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,845,479.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,280 shares of company stock valued at $192,335 over the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Residential

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. IRON Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $680,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Equity Residential by 7.1% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 6,077 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $384,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. TAP Consulting LLC grew its position in Equity Residential by 17.3% in the first quarter. TAP Consulting LLC now owns 55,517 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,504,000 after acquiring an additional 8,175 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Equity Residential during the first quarter worth $332,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Equity Residential by 24.6% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 184,565 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,648,000 after purchasing an additional 36,498 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.