Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,470,000 shares, an increase of 7.7% from the March 15th total of 5,080,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,110,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EQR. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “hold” rating and a $64.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James upgraded shares of Equity Residential from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.32.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

EQR traded up $0.73 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $60.41. 2,654,188 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,068,876. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.61. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $52.57 and a 12 month high of $69.45. The stock has a market cap of $22.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $727.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.07 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 29.07% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th were paid a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.47%. This is a boost from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 122.73%.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In related news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 716 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total value of $41,384.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,384,252.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 716 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total value of $41,384.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,384,252.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 1,639 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.43, for a total transaction of $97,405.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 31,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,845,479.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,280 shares of company stock valued at $192,335 in the last ninety days. 1.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Residential

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 39.3% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 234,022 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,739,000 after purchasing an additional 65,982 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,110,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 61.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 64,809 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,805,000 after purchasing an additional 24,787 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 128.7% during the third quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 11,372 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $668,000 after purchasing an additional 6,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 12.5% during the third quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 743,250 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $43,636,000 after purchasing an additional 82,773 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.