Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Announces Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) released its earnings results on Thursday. The real estate investment trust reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.01), Zacks reports. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 10.30% and a net margin of 37.58%. Equity Residential updated its Q1 2026 guidance to 0.940-0.980 EPS.

Equity Residential Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of EQR traded down $1.29 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $61.79. 3,362,544 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,497,286. Equity Residential has a 1-year low of $58.38 and a 1-year high of $75.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $61.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a market cap of $23.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.39, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.76.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were given a $0.6925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.42%.

Institutional Trading of Equity Residential

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 3.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,489 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $536,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Equity Residential by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,589 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $750,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 25.6% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,235 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 8.3% during the second quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 4,654 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fulcrum Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in Equity Residential in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on EQR shares. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Equity Residential from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Equity Residential from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $63.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.01.

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.