AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Director Sells $528,576.58 in Stock

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 2,261 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.78, for a total transaction of $528,576.58. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 111,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,051,508.08. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 2.2 %

NYSE:AVB opened at $227.93 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $166.60 and a one year high of $236.26. The company has a market cap of $32.42 billion, a PE ratio of 31.18, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $226.23 and a 200-day moving average of $212.05.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $734.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 36.20%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.66 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 93.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $225.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $226.88.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 1,877.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 178 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth about $39,000. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About AvalonBay Communities

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.