AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Receives $231.33 Average Price Target from Brokerages

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the seventeen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $231.33.

AVB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised shares of AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE AVB opened at $217.07 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $226.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $219.71. AvalonBay Communities has a 52-week low of $169.37 and a 52-week high of $239.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. The company has a market cap of $30.88 billion, a PE ratio of 29.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.98.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.66 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AvalonBay Communities

In other AvalonBay Communities news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total transaction of $5,532,538.59. Following the transaction, the director now owns 87,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,367,689.33. The trade was a 21.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AvalonBay Communities

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. American Assets Capital Advisers LLC bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter worth $1,014,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,060,497 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $914,627,000 after acquiring an additional 55,588 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.6% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 63,174 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,070,000 after acquiring an additional 3,350 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 284.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 146,429 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,983,000 after purchasing an additional 108,371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 46.6% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 34,791 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,837,000 after purchasing an additional 11,064 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.