GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. Takes Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 519 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $37,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 51.6% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 461 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 27.6% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 740 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,858 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 10,733 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $768,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,283 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

NYSE EQR opened at $64.00 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a market capitalization of $24.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.92. Equity Residential has a 12-month low of $59.41 and a 12-month high of $78.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $66.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.77.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99. Equity Residential had a net margin of 33.22% and a return on equity of 9.05%. The firm had revenue of $768.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $770.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 24th were issued a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 24th. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is 104.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Equity Residential from $76.50 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.84.

Equity Residential 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.