AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Given New $233.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) had its price target decreased by Royal Bank of Canada from $234.00 to $233.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on AVB. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $210.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Scotiabank increased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $222.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $227.06.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AVB traded up $3.35 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $228.28. The company had a trading volume of 152,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 727,608. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.97. AvalonBay Communities has a twelve month low of $164.76 and a twelve month high of $236.26. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $225.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $210.60. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 29.61% and a return on equity of 7.16%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.66 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.01 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is currently 93.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Swiss National Bank grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 422,021 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $95,060,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 65,704 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,800,000 after buying an additional 2,985 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 10.3% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,337 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $526,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 8.4% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 21,666 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,880,000 after acquiring an additional 1,679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 4.6% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 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.