Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Short Interest Up 18.3% in November

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,560,000 shares, a growth of 18.3% from the October 31st total of 4,700,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,580,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Institutional Trading of Equity Residential

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Equity Residential by 2,529.4% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Equity Residential by 69.6% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 475 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $83.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Equity Residential in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $81.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Equity Residential from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Equity Residential from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.25.

Equity Residential Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE:EQR opened at $75.24 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $28.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 0.92. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $57.33 and a 52 week high of $78.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $74.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.45.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 24th were paid a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 24th. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is presently 110.66%.

Equity Residential Company 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.