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

Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $196.78.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $201.00 to $197.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $206.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $191.00 price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Friday, January 5th.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE AVB opened at $191.45 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $182.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.67. The company has a market capitalization of $27.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.49, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.92. AvalonBay Communities has a 1-year low of $160.45 and a 1-year high of $198.65.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.73 by ($1.03). The company had revenue of $704.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $701.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 34.05% and a return on equity of 8.10%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.59 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities 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 issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 101.19%.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 270.0% during the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 185 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 316.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1,542.9% during the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 92.61% of the stock is currently 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.