Equity Residential (EQR) Stock Rating Upgraded by TheStreet

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) was upgraded by research analysts at TheStreet from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. BidaskClub lowered shares of Equity Residential from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 1st. Barclays PLC restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $64.00 target price (up previously from $62.00) on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 18th. Finally, Argus set a $75.00 target price on shares of Equity Residential and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.73.

Equity Residential (EQR) traded up 0.24% during trading on Monday, hitting $68.00. 287,188 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged. The company has a market cap of $24.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.40 and a beta of 0.34. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $58.28 and a 52-week high of $68.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $66.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.31.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, meeting the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.77. Equity Residential had a net margin of 33.99% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The business had revenue of $612.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $609.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.76 earnings per share. Equity Residential’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Equity Residential will post $1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

In related news, insider Michael L. Manelis sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total value of $65,630.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider David S. Santee sold 14,028 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.27, for a total transaction of $943,663.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 44,871 shares of company stock worth $2,979,034 in the last ninety days. 3.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Motco increased its position in Equity Residential by 5.9% in the first quarter. Motco now owns 5,993 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in Equity Residential by 52.9% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 201,794 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,554,000 after buying an additional 69,824 shares during the period. LGT Capital Partners LTD. increased its position in Equity Residential by 8.9% in the first quarter. LGT Capital Partners LTD. now owns 103,070 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,413,000 after buying an additional 8,400 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its position in Equity Residential by 5.7% in the first quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 863,661 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $53,737,000 after buying an additional 46,325 shares during the period. Finally, DnB Asset Management AS increased its position in Equity Residential by 18.1% in the first quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 38,537 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,398,000 after buying an additional 5,900 shares during the period. 92.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity Residential Company Profile

Equity Residential is a real estate investment trust. The Company’s primary business is the acquisition, development and management of multifamily residential properties. Its segments include Boston, New York, Washington DC, Southern California, San Francisco, Seattle and Other Markets. Southern California includes Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange County.