Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Price Target Raised to $64.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) had its target price upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $64.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on EQR. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Equity Residential from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. Piper Sandler set a $78.00 price objective on Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Barclays cut their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Equity Residential from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Equity Residential from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.48.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

NYSE EQR opened at $62.69 on Thursday. 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 capitalization of $23.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.40, a P/E/G ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s fifty day moving average is $61.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.46. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $57.57 and a 52-week high of $72.40.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Equity Residential had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 9.98%. The company had revenue of $781.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $786.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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 research analysts forecast that Equity Residential will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 30th were issued a $0.7025 dividend. This represents a $2.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 30th. This is a positive change from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is currently 95.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equity Residential news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 5,765 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total value of $375,474.45. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 46,131 shares in the company, valued at $3,004,512.03. The trade was a 11.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Garechana sold 3,637 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total transaction of $236,877.81. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,740 shares in the company, valued at $1,220,536.20. This represents a 16.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 10,058 shares of company stock worth $655,078 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 2.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,597,658 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,728,296,000 after buying an additional 1,281,354 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its position in Equity Residential by 566.7% during the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 115,181 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,456,000 after buying an additional 97,906 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 34.6% during the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 568,408 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,446,000 after acquiring an additional 146,148 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at about $9,094,000. Finally, National Pension Service increased its position in Equity Residential by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 605,494 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,194,000 after acquiring an additional 26,590 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is 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.