Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Buys Shares of 17,529 AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 17,529 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $3,308,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 56.0% in the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 156 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 7,985 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,358 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $649,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 2,458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV now owns 6,540 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,090,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on AVB shares. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays raised their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $205.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Wolfe Research upgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $209.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $196.87.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $184.06 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $187.67 and a 200 day moving average of $180.57. The company has a market cap of $26.28 billion, a PE ratio of 30.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.76. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.10 and a 12-month high of $198.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $777.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $772.37 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.58% and a net margin of 33.33%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.82 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.33 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $1.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.34%.

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.