Westpac Banking Corp Cuts Stock Position in Equity Residential $EQR

Westpac Banking Corp lessened its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 14.0% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 46,393 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 7,575 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $3,131,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EQR. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 425.3% in the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 415 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Equity Residential in the first quarter worth about $37,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 1,000.0% in the second quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 660 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new position in Equity Residential in the first quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EQR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BNP Paribas downgraded Equity Residential from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Equity Residential in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $73.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.22.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of EQR opened at $59.42 on Friday. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $58.38 and a 52-week high of $78.32. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.88.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.02. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 10.30% and a net margin of 37.58%.The firm had revenue of $782.41 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $779.68 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. Equity Residential has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.020-1.060 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 3.980-4.020 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Equity Residential will post 3.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 25th were issued a $0.6925 dividend. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 25th. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.42%.

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.