AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Short Interest Down 10.4% in March

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,470,000 shares, a decrease of 10.4% from the March 15th total of 1,640,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 804,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $175.00 to $191.50 in a report on Monday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $207.00 target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $194.00 to $204.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $206.00 target price for the company. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $196.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total transaction of $928,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,812,330.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total transaction of $323,925.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,054,985.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total transaction of $928,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,330.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 255.6% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 192 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 316.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Castleview Partners LLC grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1,542.9% in the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $179.00 on Wednesday. AvalonBay Communities has a twelve month low of $160.45 and a twelve month high of $198.65. The company’s 50 day moving average is $180.66 and its 200 day moving average is $177.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $25.45 billion, a PE ratio of 27.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.92.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.73 by ($1.03). The firm had revenue of $704.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $701.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 33.56%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.59 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities will post 10.8 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.82%.

AvalonBay Communities Company Profile

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.