AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $238.64.

AVB has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays decreased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AVB stock opened at $211.44 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $30.08 billion, a PE ratio of 27.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50 day moving average of $217.93 and a 200-day moving average of $223.04. AvalonBay Communities has a 12-month low of $177.40 and a 12-month high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 37.13%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.75 dividend. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.23%.

Institutional Trading of AvalonBay Communities

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AVB. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 29.6% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 1,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,060,497 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $914,627,000 after purchasing an additional 55,588 shares during the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 875.3% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 15,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 14,180 shares in the last quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 27.0% during the 4th quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 22,356 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,918,000 after purchasing an additional 4,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 284.8% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 146,429 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,983,000 after buying an additional 108,371 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Company Profile

AvalonBay Communities, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the development, acquisition, ownership, and operation of multifamily communities. It operates through the following segments: Same Store, Other Stabilized, and Development or Redevelopment. The Same Store segment refers to the operating communities that were owned and had stabilized occupancy.