Barclays Cuts AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Price Target to $230.00

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) had its price objective lowered by Barclays from $243.00 to $230.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Mizuho upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $234.60.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE AVB opened at $214.48 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $223.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $221.14. AvalonBay Communities has a 52 week low of $169.37 and a 52 week high of $239.29. The firm has a market cap of $30.51 billion, a PE ratio of 29.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $734.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.66 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is currently 93.02%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total value of $5,532,538.59. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 87,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,367,689.33. This trade represents a 21.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 38.6% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 201 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 59.9% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 478 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About AvalonBay Communities

AvalonBay Communities, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the development, acquisition, ownership, and operation of multifamily communities. It operates through the following segments: Same Store, Other Stabilized, and Development or Redevelopment. The Same Store segment refers to the operating communities that were owned and had stabilized occupancy.