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

Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eighteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $228.67.

A number of research firms recently commented on AVB. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Zelman & Associates upgraded AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total transaction of $5,532,538.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 87,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,367,689.33. The trade was a 21.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 678.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,715,050 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $386,315,000 after acquiring an additional 1,494,872 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 487.8% during the second 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 in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth about $581,960,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,245,028 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,097,971,000 after buying an additional 196,938 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 958.9% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 172,618 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,882,000 after buying an additional 156,316 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

NYSE AVB opened at $228.45 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $226.76 and its 200-day moving average is $215.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $32.49 billion, a PE ratio of 31.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.98. AvalonBay Communities has a 12-month low of $169.37 and a 12-month high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates 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 firm posted $2.66 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 93.02%.

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.