Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Sunday morning.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. 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. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $73.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on Equity Residential from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.63.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of Equity Residential stock opened at $62.78 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. The firm has a market cap of $23.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $62.55 and its 200-day moving average is $62.54. Equity Residential has a one year low of $58.38 and a one year high of $73.14.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $781.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $786.35 million. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 9.98% and a net margin of 36.20%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business 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. Equities analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.98 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, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a $0.6925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Catherine Carraway sold 656 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 18,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,194,419.07. This trade represents a 3.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 5,765 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total transaction of $375,474.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 46,131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,004,512.03. This trade represents a 11.11% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,058 shares of company stock worth $655,078. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Residential

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EQR. Collier Financial bought a new position in Equity Residential during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in Equity Residential in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 69.2% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 440 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT lifted its position 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.