Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Short Interest Up 16.2% in February

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 6,670,000 shares, an increase of 16.2% from the February 13th total of 5,740,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,580,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Equity Residential Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of EQR traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $69.79. The company had a trading volume of 1,248,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,582,347. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $59.48 and a 52-week high of $78.84. The firm has a market cap of $26.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $70.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.73.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price target on Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.51.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equity Residential news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $46,262.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,840,340.34. This represents a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $309,425.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,016,622.48. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Equity Residential by 607.8% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Equity Residential by 2,529.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

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.