Royal Bank of Canada Has Lowered Expectations for Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Stock Price

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) had its price target cut by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $83.00 to $79.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 14.01% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on EQR. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $81.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Equity Residential from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.19.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQR traded down $1.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $69.29. 865,990 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,857,515. The company’s 50-day moving average is $74.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.96. 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 company has a market capitalization of $26.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.38, a PEG ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 0.89. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $53.28 and a 1 year high of $78.83.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.96 by ($0.49). The business had revenue of $734.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $735.26 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 31.57% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tobam lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 8.6% during the third quarter. Tobam now owns 1,927 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $143,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its position in Equity Residential by 4.5% during the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,522 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in Equity Residential by 41.9% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 525 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Equity Residential by 69.6% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 475 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Finally, Mystic Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Equity Residential by 3.8% during the first quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.