AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Coverage Initiated at Barclays

Barclays assumed coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) in a research note issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set an “equal weight” rating and a $243.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Barclays‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 10.54% from the company’s current price.

AVB has been the subject of several other reports. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $222.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $225.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $231.33.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 3.1 %

NYSE:AVB opened at $219.83 on Tuesday. AvalonBay Communities has a 12 month low of $169.37 and a 12 month high of $239.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $227.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $218.12. The stock has a market cap of $31.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.98.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.10). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 36.20%. The firm had revenue of $734.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $731.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.66 EPS. Equities analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total value of $5,532,538.59. Following the transaction, the director now owns 87,239 shares in the company, valued at $20,367,689.33. This represents a 21.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AvalonBay Communities

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 212,338 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $47,056,000 after acquiring an additional 22,076 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 18.9% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 76,652 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $17,266,000 after purchasing an additional 12,165 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter valued at about $126,000. Unigestion Holding SA purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter worth about $578,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 70,650 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $15,914,000 after buying an additional 964 shares during the period. 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.