Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,679,900 shares, a drop of 7.8% from the June 15th total of 5,074,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,100,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.
A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. The company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.57.
In related news, Director David J. Neithercut sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.24, for a total value of $4,012,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Alan W. George sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.24, for a total transaction of $2,317,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 86,582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,687,593.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 165,521 shares of company stock valued at $13,148,783 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the first quarter worth $30,000. NEXT Financial Group Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the second quarter worth $34,000. Liberty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Trustcore Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the second quarter worth $40,000. Finally, LLBH Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the second quarter worth $51,000. 87.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
NYSE EQR traded down $0.33 on Tuesday, hitting $82.44. 1,068,200 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,345,344. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Equity Residential has a 1-year low of $62.40 and a 1-year high of $83.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $79.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.28 billion, a PE ratio of 25.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 0.51.
Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $669.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $667.59 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 28.27% and a return on equity of 7.21%. The business’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.81 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
About Equity Residential
Equity Residential is an S&P 500 company focused on the acquisition, development and management of rental apartment properties located in urban and high-density suburban markets where today’s renters want to live, work and play. Equity Residential owns or has investments in 307 properties consisting of 79,482 apartment units, primarily located in Boston, New York, Washington, DC, Seattle, San Francisco, Southern California and Denver.