Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $69.24 and last traded at $69.0750, with a volume of 375237 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.93.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $72.00 target price (down from $78.00) on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Nordea Equity Research upgraded Equity Residential to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut Equity Residential from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $69.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group upped their price target on Equity Residential from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $78.25 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.65.

Equity Residential Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.18. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $65.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.21. The company has a market cap of $26.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.90, a P/E/G ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 0.74.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $779.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $781.79 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 30.63% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The company’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. Equity Residential has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.020-4.140 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.980-1.020 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.7025 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 29th. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.40%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Residential

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its position in Equity Residential by 69.2% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 440 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT increased its stake in Equity Residential by 375.2% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 480 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in Equity Residential during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Company Profile

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.