AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eighteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $225.88.

AVB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $207.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CIO Matthew H. Birenbaum sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.90, for a total value of $1,044,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now directly owns 65,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,780,506.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Keri A. Shea sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.17, for a total transaction of $414,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $908,026.11. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CIO Matthew H. Birenbaum sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.90, for a total value of $1,044,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive now owns 65,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,780,506.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AVB. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 487.8% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 359,474 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $74,372,000 after purchasing an additional 298,322 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 14.4% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,980,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $367,534,000 after buying an additional 249,400 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4,563.7% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 212,803 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,488,000 after buying an additional 208,240 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth $29,256,000. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the second quarter valued at $26,755,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AVB opened at $227.14 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.80, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a fifty day moving average of $223.51 and a 200 day moving average of $206.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.03. AvalonBay Communities has a fifty-two week low of $160.45 and a fifty-two week high of $236.26.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.93). The firm had revenue of $726.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $718.49 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 29.61% and a return on equity of 7.16%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.66 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.19%.

About AvalonBay Communities

As of December 31, 2023, the Company owned or held a direct or indirect ownership interest in 299 apartment communities containing 90,669 apartment homes in 12 states and the District of Columbia, of which 18 communities were under development. The Company is an equity REIT in the business of developing, redeveloping, acquiring and managing apartment communities in leading metropolitan areas in New England, the New York/New Jersey Metro area, the Mid-Atlantic, the Pacific Northwest, and Northern and Southern California, as well as in the Company's expansion regions of Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte, North Carolina, Southeast Florida, Dallas and Austin, Texas, and Denver, Colorado.