S&G Foundation Acquires New Stake in Equity Residential $EQR

S&G Foundation bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,200,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $81,516,000. Equity Residential comprises approximately 3.8% of S&G Foundation’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. S&G Foundation owned 0.32% of Equity Residential at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EQR. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 375.2% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 480 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the period. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Equity Residential in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 48.8% in the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 549 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on EQR. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $76.00 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.40.

Equity Residential Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $67.09 and its 200-day moving average is $64.57. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $57.57 and a 1 year high of $71.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $23.88 billion, a PE ratio of 27.69, a PEG ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 0.73.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.01. Equity Residential had a net margin of 27.97% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business had revenue of $785.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $787.28 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 4.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 29th were issued a dividend of $0.7025 per share. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 29th. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is currently 122.17%.

Equity Residential 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.