Zacks Research Brokers Decrease Earnings Estimates for EQR

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for shares of Equity Residential in a research report issued on Monday, February 24th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the real estate investment trust will post earnings of $0.92 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.96. The consensus estimate for Equity Residential’s current full-year earnings is $3.98 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Equity Residential’s FY2025 earnings at $3.96 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $4.16 EPS.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on EQR. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.46.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EQR opened at $72.80 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $27.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $70.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.83. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $58.93 and a 52-week high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is presently 99.26%.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In other news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $46,262.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,840,340.34. This represents a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $384,800.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,558,634.42. The trade was a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vert Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 150,245 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,782,000 after acquiring an additional 10,472 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at $923,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,707 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 129,258 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,625,000 after acquiring an additional 14,109 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 3.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,008,341 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $298,461,000 after purchasing an additional 124,795 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.