Analysts Set Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Price Target at $77.25

Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the nineteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $77.25.

Several research firms have issued reports on EQR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America cut shares of Equity Residential from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th.

Equity Residential Price Performance

EQR stock opened at $73.45 on Friday. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $57.33 and a 12 month high of $78.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $73.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.07. The stock has a market cap of $27.87 billion, a PE ratio of 30.10, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.92.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is currently 110.66%.

Institutional Trading of Equity Residential

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EQR. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 1.2% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,001,360 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $346,794,000 after buying an additional 60,000 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 244,571.4% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 17,127 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,188,000 after buying an additional 17,120 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 18.7% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 47,997 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,328,000 after buying an additional 7,549 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new stake in Equity Residential during the third quarter worth $923,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 1,279.0% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 48,210 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,339,000 after buying an additional 44,714 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

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.