Vestcor Inc Reduces Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

Vestcor Inc trimmed its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 56.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 17,851 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 22,800 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $3,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,394,635,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 76.0% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,355,838 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $455,077,000 after buying an additional 1,017,286 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,497,047 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $815,360,000 after buying an additional 383,983 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 1,765.8% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 348,068 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $63,108,000 after buying an additional 329,413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 126.5% in the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 555,832 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $107,370,000 after buying an additional 310,412 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB stock opened at $189.72 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The business has a 50 day moving average of $177.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $177.38. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.10 and a 52 week high of $209.86. The company has a market cap of $26.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.50, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.78.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.80 by ($0.47). The business had revenue of $770.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $768.80 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.56% and a net margin of 37.21%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.83 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.31 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AVB. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $193.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $191.00 to $189.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $198.44.

AvalonBay Communities Profile

AvalonBay Communities, Inc (NYSE: AVB) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops, redevelops and manages multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on professionally managed apartment communities, offering a range of rental housing options and related resident services. As a REIT, AvalonBay’s core activities center on the acquisition and development of apartment assets and the ongoing operations and leasing of those communities.

AvalonBay’s operating activities include ground-up development, strategic redevelopment of existing properties, property and asset management, and on-site leasing and resident services.