Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Equity Residential from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 report on Monday, November 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Evercore lifted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.78.

Equity Residential Trading Down 0.2%

EQR opened at $63.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $58.38 and a fifty-two week high of $75.86. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $62.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.54, a PEG ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.75.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $781.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $786.35 million. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 9.98% and a net margin of 36.20%.Equity Residential’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. Equity Residential has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.940-0.980 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.020-4.140 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were issued a $0.6925 dividend. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

In other news, EVP Robert Garechana sold 3,637 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total value of $236,877.81. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,740 shares in the company, valued at $1,220,536.20. This trade represents a 16.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Catherine Carraway sold 656 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total value of $42,725.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,194,419.07. This trade represents a 3.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,058 shares of company stock valued at $655,078. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Residential

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DGS Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the 4th quarter worth $298,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Equity Residential by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 89,109 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,553,000 after purchasing an additional 5,348 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 34,144 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,152,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 27.4% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 1,058,213 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $65,948,000 after buying an additional 227,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 89,663 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,682,000 after buying an additional 17,465 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Company Profile

Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that acquires, develops, owns and operates rental apartment properties. Headquartered in Chicago, the company focuses on delivering professionally managed, market-rate apartment homes and related services to renters. Its operations cover a range of property types, including high-rise and mid-rise assets, with amenities and on-site management designed to support resident retention and occupancy.

The company’s core activities include property acquisitions, development and redevelopment, leasing, and day-to-day property management.