Yousif Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Yousif Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,373 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 859 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $4,750,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AVB. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 17.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,298,186 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $394,690,000 after buying an additional 341,332 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 2,140.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 213,727 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $40,347,000 after buying an additional 204,186 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 118.4% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 318,026 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,618,000 after buying an additional 172,418 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 6.5% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,496,671 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $428,778,000 after buying an additional 151,995 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 5.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,278,363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $391,286,000 after buying an additional 126,288 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $207.00 price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Mizuho decreased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $188.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $175.00 to $191.50 in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $196.78.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total transaction of $323,925.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,907 shares in the company, valued at $4,054,985.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total transaction of $928,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,308 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,330.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total value of $323,925.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,054,985.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

AVB opened at $191.45 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $182.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.64. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.45 and a 1 year high of $198.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.22 billion, a PE ratio of 29.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.92.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.73 by ($1.03). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 33.56% and a return on equity of 7.98%. The company had revenue of $704.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $701.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is presently 103.82%.

AvalonBay Communities Profile

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.