Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) saw a large decline in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,700,000 shares, a decline of 20.7% from the October 15th total of 5,930,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,550,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Institutional Trading of Equity Residential

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 2,529.4% in the 3rd 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. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Equity Residential by 69.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 475 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 41.9% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 525 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQR traded up $0.39 during trading on Friday, hitting $73.46. The company had a trading volume of 515,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,846,044. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $54.53 and a fifty-two week high of $78.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.07 and a beta of 0.90.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 24th. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 110.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on EQR shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $77.75 to $81.50 in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.25.

About Equity Residential

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.