The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Stock

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) had its price objective raised by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $69.00 to $71.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 11.26% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on EQR. Piper Sandler set a $78.00 price objective on Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $78.50 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $73.00 to $66.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.68.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQR opened at $63.82 on Thursday. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $58.38 and a 52 week high of $75.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $24.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.78, a P/E/G ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $62.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.62.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 9.98%. The business’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. 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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Equity Residential will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 5,765 shares of Equity Residential 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 $375,474.45. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 46,131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,004,512.03. The trade was a 11.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Catherine Carraway sold 656 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total value of $42,725.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,194,419.07. This represents a 3.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,058 shares of company stock worth $655,078. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Residential

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its position in Equity Residential by 566.7% in the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 115,181 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,456,000 after purchasing an additional 97,906 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 4.6% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 605,494 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,194,000 after buying an additional 26,590 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 30.3% in the second quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 187,100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $12,627,000 after acquiring an additional 43,500 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 209,614 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,471,000 after acquiring an additional 17,014 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 707,822 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $45,817,000 after purchasing an additional 17,287 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

About Equity Residential

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.