Wolverine Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 16,771 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,026,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EQR. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in Equity Residential by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 7,291 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $446,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its position in Equity Residential by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 60,520 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,701,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Equity Residential by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,626 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Equity Residential by 120.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 488 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA boosted its position in Equity Residential by 34.1% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 1,145 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQR opened at $64.90 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $61.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.81. Equity Residential has a twelve month low of $52.57 and a twelve month high of $69.45. The company has a market cap of $24.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.93, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 31.70%. The firm had revenue of $730.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $728.09 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th were given a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.16%. This is an increase from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 112.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on EQR shares. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Equity Residential from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Monday. Mizuho cut their price objective on Equity Residential from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Equity Residential from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Equity Residential from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 716 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total value of $41,384.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,384,252.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 716 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total value of $41,384.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,384,252.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Robert Garechana sold 876 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total value of $50,632.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,927.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,280 shares of company stock worth $192,335. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.