Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Updates FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 4.020-4.140 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 4.070. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Equity Residential also updated its Q2 2026 guidance to 0.980-1.020 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Equity Residential from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $72.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.66.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQR traded up $1.11 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $66.26. 2,388,317 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,614,698. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $61.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.48. The stock has a market cap of $24.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.63, a PEG ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.73. Equity Residential has a one year low of $57.57 and a one year high of $72.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $779.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $783.38 million. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 9.98% and a net margin of 36.20%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. Equity Residential has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.020-4.140 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.980-1.020 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 30th were paid a dividend of $0.7025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 30th. This is a boost from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is presently 95.90%.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In other news, EVP Robert Garechana sold 3,637 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total transaction of $236,877.81. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,220,536.20. The trade was a 16.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Catherine Carraway sold 656 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total transaction of $42,725.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,194,419.07. This trade represents a 3.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,058 shares of company stock worth $655,078. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Key Equity Residential News

Here are the key news stories impacting Equity Residential this week:

• Positive Sentiment: FFO outperformed estimates — quarterly funds from operations (FFO) came in at $0.99 vs. the Zacks consensus of $0.95, showing underlying cash-generation resilience. EQR Q1 FFO Top Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore raised its price target to $70 and maintained an “outperform” rating, signaling buy-side confidence and providing upward analyst momentum. Evercore PT Raise
• Neutral Sentiment: Stifel nudged its target down slightly to $78.25 but kept a “buy” rating — a small adjustment that still implies significant upside from current levels. Stifel Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Guidance was largely in line to modestly below consensus: Q2 EPS guide 0.98–1.02 (vs. ~1.02 consensus) and FY 2026 EPS guide 4.020–4.140 (vs. ~4.07 consensus) — this keeps full-year outlook broadly intact but limits upside from guidance. Q1 Results & Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Reported EPS missed the street: GAAP EPS $0.24 vs. consensus $0.29, and revenue was slightly below estimates — the headline miss pressured near-term sentiment despite FFO strength. Press Release / Earnings Data

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EQR. VestGen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 4th quarter worth about $289,000. NorthRock Partners LLC bought a new stake in Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter worth about $282,000. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its position in Equity Residential by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 4,481 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. bought a new stake in Equity Residential in the 2nd quarter worth about $270,000. Finally, Scientech Research LLC bought a new stake in Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter worth about $241,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Company Profile

Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that acquires, develops, owns and operates rental apartment properties. Headquartered in Chicago, the company focuses on delivering professionally managed, market-rate apartment homes and related services to renters. Its operations cover a range of property types, including high-rise and mid-rise assets, with amenities and on-site management designed to support resident retention and occupancy.

The company’s core activities include property acquisitions, development and redevelopment, leasing, and day-to-day property management.