Chicago, Illinois-based Equity Residential (EQR) engages in the acquisition, development, and management of rental apartment properties. With a market cap of $27 billion, Equity Residential operates as one of the leading, fully integrated, publicly traded multi-family REITs in the United States.
The real estate giant has slightly lagged behind the broader market over the past year. EQR stock has gained 21.5% over the past 52 weeks and dipped 74 basis points on a YTD basis, compared to the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 22.3% surge over the past year and 4% gains in 2025.
Zooming in further, EQR has also outpaced the iShares Global REIT ETF’s (REET) 7.9% gains over the past year but lagged behind REET’s 3.1% surge in 2025.
Equity Residential stock observed a marginal gain in the trading session after the release of its impressive Q4 results on Feb. 3. Driven by the impressive growth in same-store revenues, the company’s total revenues for the quarter surged 5.4% year-over-year to $766.8 million, which exceeded the Street’s expectations by 1.2%. Furthermore, the company’s net income for shareholders increased 34.7% year-over-year to $418.8 million and its normalized funds from operations (NFFO) of $1 per share matched analysts’ consensus estimates.
For the current fiscal 2025, ending in December, analysts expect EQR to deliver a modest 2.3% year-over-year growth in NFFO per share to $3.98. On a positive note, the company has matched or surpassed the Street’s NFFO expectations in each of the past four quarters.
Among the 27 analysts covering the EQR stock, the consensus rating is a “Moderate Buy.” That’s based on 11 “Strong Buy,” one “Moderate Buy,” and 15 “Hold” ratings.
This configuration is slightly more bullish than two months ago when 10 analysts gave “Strong Buy” recommendations.
On Feb. 10, Evercore ISI analyst Steve Sakwa reiterated a “Hold” rating on EQR, while setting a price target of $76.
EQR’s mean price target of $77.44 represents an 8.7% premium to current price levels, while its street-high target of $87 suggests a 22.1% upside potential.
