AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Rating Lowered to Market Perform at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report released on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has $220.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Mizuho upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.40.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $191.69 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities has a fifty-two week low of $177.40 and a fifty-two week high of $239.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The company has a market cap of $27.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $216.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $221.69.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.23%.

Institutional Trading of AvalonBay Communities

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1,666.7% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 12,200.0% during the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 246 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Company Profile

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.