AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $195.1333.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Barclays cut their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $203.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group decreased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $191.00 to $189.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, June 1st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pensionfund PDN acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at $3,648,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 444,222 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $80,449,000 after buying an additional 17,352 shares during the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,237,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 223,074 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $43,091,000 after acquiring an additional 13,356 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter worth about $11,058,000. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB opened at $197.03 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. AvalonBay Communities has a 1 year low of $160.10 and a 1 year high of $205.00. The company’s fifty day moving average is $184.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.35.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.80 by ($0.47). The firm had revenue of $770.28 million during 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 last year, the business posted $2.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.28 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $1.78 per share. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is presently 103.19%.

About AvalonBay Communities

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.