UBS Maintains a 'Neutral' on Equity Residential (EQR); Lehman Walks Away With Archstone Stake; IPO Could Be On The Way

May 25, 2012 10:45 AM EDT Send to a Friend
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Price: $60.18 +0.99%

Rating Summary:
    7 Buy, 13 Hold, 1 Sell

Rating Trend: Down Down

Today's Overall Ratings:
    Up: 21 | Down: 43 | New: 13
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UBS maintains a 'Neutral' on Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) price target of $64.00.

Analyst, Ross T. Nussbaum, said, "According to the Wall Street Journal, Lehman has acquired the final 26.5% ownership stake in Archstone for $1.58bn. The announcement comes three days after EQR’s option to purchase the 26.5% stake for $1.5bn passed...With 100% control of Archstone now in Lehman's hands, we think an IPO is likely to occur, possibly as soon as year-end. That said, our best estimate is that Lehman could still sell over a $1bn+ of assets to further de-lever while also reducing a potential IPO discount. While a few REITs could gain from picking off Archstone’s assets, we believe investors could look to the larger apartment REITs as sources of capital for an IPO, placing weight to the shoulders of the apartment REIT sector."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Equity Residential click here. For more ratings news on Equity Residential click here.

Shares of Equity Residential closed at $62.08 yesterday, with a 52 week range of $48.46-$63.86.


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