Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Stock Price

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) had its price target cut by Morgan Stanley from $73.50 to $72.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 19.61% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Equity Residential from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Equity Residential from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $78.50 price objective on Equity Residential in a report on Friday, February 6th. Evercore boosted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $69.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.63.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

EQR stock traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $60.20. 349,264 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,635,534. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $58.38 and a 12 month high of $72.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.54, a P/E/G ratio of 4.53 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 company had revenue of $781.91 million during 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 revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business 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. On average, analysts forecast that Equity Residential will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equity Residential news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 5,765 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 46,131 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,004,512.03. This represents a 11.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Catherine Carraway sold 656 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,194,419.07. This trade represents a 3.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 10,058 shares of company stock valued at $655,078 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Equity Residential

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 87,999 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,549,000 after purchasing an additional 4,238 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,475,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $93,079,000 after buying an additional 310,859 shares during the period. Storen Legacy Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Equity Residential in the fourth quarter worth $340,000. DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Equity Residential in the 4th quarter valued at about $298,000. Finally, Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 34,144 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.