Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Short Interest Update

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,510,000 shares, a decline of 8.5% from the October 15th total of 6,020,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,680,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Equity Residential Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of EQR traded down $0.01 on Friday, hitting $55.43. 2,366,822 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,917,179. Equity Residential has a one year low of $52.57 and a one year high of $69.45. The company has a market capitalization of $21.05 billion, a PE ratio of 30.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.18.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 26th were issued a $0.6625 dividend. This represents a $2.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.78%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 25th. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is 147.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on EQR shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Equity Residential from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $62.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 5th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Equity Residential from $71.00 to $57.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 10th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Equity Residential from $60.00 to $59.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Equity Residential from $70.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Monday, October 9th. Finally, Wedbush started coverage on Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, October 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equity Residential news, Chairman David J. Neithercut sold 25,000 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.25, for a total transaction of $1,356,250.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 3,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $184,016. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 234.9% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 12,882 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,158,000 after buying an additional 9,035 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in Equity Residential by 45.5% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,761 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 85.2% during the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,356 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 5,224 shares during the period. Prudential PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the 1st quarter valued at about $687,000. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 8.5% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,295 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $836,000 after buying an additional 730 shares during the last quarter. 84.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.