Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.01, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $785.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $787.46 million. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 30.63%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

EQR stock traded down $0.09 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $68.20. 2,868,952 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,785,864. Equity Residential has a twelve month low of $57.57 and a twelve month high of $71.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $25.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.46 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.86.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 29th were given a dividend of $0.7025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 29th. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $72.00 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Monday. Bank of America upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $76.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Equity Residential to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Equity Residential from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.40.

Institutional Trading of Equity Residential

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Equity Residential by 3.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,489 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $536,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 13.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 4,836 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 96.1% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 11,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $763,000 after acquiring an additional 5,537 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the 2nd quarter valued at about $100,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Equity Residential by 170.7% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 20,646 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after acquiring an additional 13,018 shares during the period. 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.