Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Given New $73.00 Price Target at Truist Financial

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) had its price target increased by Truist Financial from $67.00 to $73.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on EQR. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Wedbush reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $68.47.

Equity Residential Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:EQR opened at $68.02 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $25.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.23. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $52.57 and a fifty-two week high of $69.57. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.69.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $730.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $728.09 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 31.70% and a return on equity of 8.18%. Equity Residential’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. Analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 1st. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is currently 112.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

In other Equity Residential news, EVP Alexander Brackenridge sold 4,027 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total transaction of $261,795.27. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 69,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,544,264.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 6,357 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total transaction of $439,141.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,576 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,910.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Alexander Brackenridge sold 4,027 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total transaction of $261,795.27. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 69,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,544,264.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,625 shares of company stock valued at $913,158 over the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Residential

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EQR. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of Equity Residential by 11.5% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,320 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 548 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Equity Residential by 39.3% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 234,022 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,739,000 after purchasing an additional 65,982 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Equity Residential in the third quarter worth $83,000. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in Equity Residential by 4.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 50,084 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,941,000 after purchasing an additional 2,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its position in Equity Residential by 3.6% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 70,828 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,158,000 after purchasing an additional 2,435 shares during the last quarter. 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.