Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Raises Dividend to $0.69 Per Share

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 20th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of 0.6925 per share by the real estate investment trust on Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.95%. This is a 2.6% increase from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68.

Equity Residential has raised its dividend by an average of 3.9% annually over the last three years. Equity Residential has a payout ratio of 187.5% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities research analysts expect Equity Residential to earn $4.21 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.70 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 64.1%.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of Equity Residential stock traded up $0.40 on Thursday, reaching $70.17. The stock had a trading volume of 1,501,238 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,581,818. The business’s 50 day moving average is $70.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.71. The company has a market cap of $26.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $59.48 and a 1 year high of $78.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $384,800.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,558,634.42. This trade represents a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $683,728.09. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,930,106.67. The trade was a 26.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.51.

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.