Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Hits New 12-Month High at $72.39

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $72.39 and last traded at $72.26, with a volume of 559963 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $71.98.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Equity Residential from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Equity Residential from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Equity Residential from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.91.

Equity Residential Stock Up 0.5 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $69.21 and a 200-day moving average of $65.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.21 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $27.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.87.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.96 by ($0.49). The business had revenue of $734.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $735.26 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 32.83% and a return on equity of 8.53%. The business’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Monday, July 1st were paid a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 1st. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is presently 112.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EQR. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in Equity Residential during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 41.9% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 525 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 146.6% in the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 550 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. 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.