AvalonBay Communities (AVB) issued an update on its first quarter earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $1.33 for the period, compared to the Thomson Reuters consensus earnings per share estimate of $1.39. AvalonBay Communities also updated its FY13 guidance to $6.15 EPS.

AvalonBay Communities (AVB) traded down 1.65% on Wednesday, hitting $135.64. AvalonBay Communities (AVB) has a 52-week low of $126.12 and a 52-week high of $151.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently $136.1. The company has a market cap of $13.253 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.16.

AvalonBay Communities last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $275.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $274.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. AvalonBay Communities’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. AvalonBay Communities has set its Q1 guidance at $1.33 EPS and its FY13 guidance at $6.15 EPS. Analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities (AVB) will post $5.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which is scheduled for Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AVB shares. Analysts at Barclays Capital raised their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $165.00 to $169.00 in a research note to investors on Friday, January 11th. They now have an equal weight rating on the stock. On a related note, analysts at Zacks reiterated a neutral rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note to investors on Thursday, January 10th. They now have a $143.00 price target on the stock. Finally, analysts at Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $165.00 to $157.00 in a research note to investors on Monday, January 7th. They now have an outperform rating on the stock.

Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, two have issued an overweight rating, eleven have given a hold rating, one has given an underweight rating, and one has issued a sell rating to the company. The company currently has an average rating of overweight and a consensus price target of $146.94.

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (AvalonBay) is a real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company is engaged in the development, redevelopment, acquisition, ownership and operation of multifamily communities in high barrier to entry markets of the United States.

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