Westpac Banking Corp Reduces Holdings in Equity Residential $EQR

by · The Markets Daily

Westpac Banking Corp lowered its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR – Free Report) by 21.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 86,657 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 24,203 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $5,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EQR. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the third quarter worth $27,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 69.2% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 440 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 434.7% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 540 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EQR. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $72.00 price target (down from $78.00) on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Equity Residential from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.90.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Equity Residential

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Equity Residential stock opened at $66.13 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $24.78 billion, a PE ratio of 26.45, a P/E/G ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $62.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.18. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $57.57 and a 12 month high of $70.21.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $779.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $781.79 million. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 30.63%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. Equity Residential has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.020-4.140 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.980-1.020 EPS. Research analysts expect that Equity Residential will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 30th were issued a dividend of $0.7025 per share. This represents a $2.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. This is a positive change from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 30th. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is presently 112.40%.

Equity Residential Company Profile

(Free Report)

Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that acquires, develops, owns and operates rental apartment properties. Headquartered in Chicago, the company focuses on delivering professionally managed, market-rate apartment homes and related services to renters. Its operations cover a range of property types, including high-rise and mid-rise assets, with amenities and on-site management designed to support resident retention and occupancy.

The company’s core activities include property acquisitions, development and redevelopment, leasing, and day-to-day property management.

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