Wedbush Reiterates “Neutral” Rating for Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating restated by equities research analysts at Wedbush in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,RTT News reports. They presently have a $75.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Wedbush’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 9.26% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Equity Residential currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.50.

Equity Residential Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of EQR traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $68.64. 633,024 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,728,307. The firm has a market cap of $26.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.73. Equity Residential has a 12-month low of $59.41 and a 12-month high of $78.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $760.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $769.43 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 34.76% and a return on equity of 9.27%. The business’s revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Equity Residential will post 3.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 483,753 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,714,000 after purchasing an additional 263,622 shares in the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the fourth quarter valued at about $321,000. Keybank National Association OH raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 7,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,210,383 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $302,137,000 after purchasing an additional 136,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the fourth quarter valued at about $13,921,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Company Profile

Equity Residential is committed to creating communities where people thrive. The Company, a member of the S&P 500, is focused on the acquisition, development and management of residential properties located in and around dynamic cities that attract affluent long-term renters. Equity Residential owns or has investments in 305 properties consisting of 80,683 apartment units, with an established presence in Boston, New York, Washington, DC, Seattle, San Francisco and Southern California, and an expanding presence in Denver, Atlanta, Dallas/Ft.