Mizuho Securities analyst Haendel St. Juste has maintained their neutral stance on EQR stock, giving a Hold rating yesterday.
Haendel St. Juste has given his Hold rating due to a combination of factors that reflect both opportunities and challenges for Equity Residential. The company has outlined a potential for 4-5% intermediate-term growth in funds from operations per share, driven by technology initiatives and portfolio optimization. However, these projections are set beyond 2026, indicating a longer-term horizon for realizing these gains.
Additionally, while there is optimism about a recovery in key markets like Seattle and San Francisco, and the potential for capital deployment due to a strong balance sheet, these factors are offset by the current neutral stance on immediate growth prospects. The anticipated savings from technology initiatives and the company’s strategic positioning in the Sunbelt and West Coast markets provide a positive outlook, but the immediate impact remains limited, justifying the Hold rating.
In another report released yesterday, Morgan Stanley also maintained a Hold rating on the stock with a $72.50 price target.
EQR’s price has also changed slightly for the past six months – from $72.930 to $72.820, which is a -0.15% drop .