Credit Suisse Reiterates Neutral Rating, Raises Price Target On Equity Residential On Positive 4Q14 Beat

In a report published Wednesday, Credit Suisse analyst Ian Weissman reiterated a Neutral rating on Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR), and raised the price target from $78.00 to $80.00.

In the report, Credit Suisse noted, "EQR reported 4Q14 NAREIT FFOPS of $0.87, significantly higher than Consensus and our estimate of $0.83. As shown in Exhibit 1, higher NOI accounted for $0.03 outperformance, largely driven by 140bps opex beat. West Coast markets continue to outperform with 4Q14 revenue growth averaging 6.3%. The Mid-Atlantic remained a drag on growth with DC rental rates down 0.4%. EQR has been hit harder than peers as its class A assets in the beltway are directly in the cross hairs of new supply. Nonetheless, cost controls that kept opex growth to 2.2% were the main driver of outperformance in 4Q14. Increasing TP to $80."

Equity Residential closed on Tuesday at $77.99.