Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Hits New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft now has a $83.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $62.00. Equity Residential traded as high as $76.81 and last traded at $76.64, with a volume of 688402 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $75.10.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Equity Residential from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equity Residential news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 6,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total transaction of $439,141.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,576 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,910.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,577,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Equity Residential in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. AGF Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Equity Residential in the fourth quarter worth $3,066,000. Jump Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 490.8% in the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 29,541 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,807,000 after buying an additional 24,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Stock Up 2.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $29.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.21 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $71.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.65.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by ($0.49). The business had revenue of $734.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $735.26 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 32.83% and a return on equity of 8.53%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Equity Residential will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st were issued a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 1st. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.03%.

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.