Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Stock Rating Upgraded by BMO Capital Markets

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) was upgraded by stock analysts at BMO Capital Markets from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued on Monday, Marketbeat.com 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’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 10.95% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on EQR. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Equity Residential from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “hold” rating and a $64.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.75.

Equity Residential Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE EQR opened at $63.09 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.68, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $61.68 and its 200 day moving average is $59.74. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $52.57 and a 52 week high of $69.45. 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 (NYSE:EQR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $730.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $728.09 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 29.07% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Equity Residential will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In related news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 716 shares of the company’s 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 $41,384.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,949 shares in the company, valued at $1,384,252.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 876 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,927.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 716 shares of the business’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 $41,384.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,949 shares in the company, valued at $1,384,252.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,280 shares of company stock worth $192,335 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Residential

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 593.9% in the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Equity Residential by 120.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 488 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in Equity Residential during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc bought a new position in Equity Residential in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.