AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Posts Earnings Results

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The real estate investment trust reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.62, Zacks reports. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.56% and a net margin of 37.21%.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock traded down $0.38 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $190.27. 621,295 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,097,177. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $187.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $179.23. AvalonBay Communities has a twelve month low of $160.10 and a twelve month high of $204.68. The company has a market cap of $27.03 billion, a PE ratio of 27.58, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.77.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $1.78 per share. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.19%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,723 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $584,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 4,759 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $968,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,374,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 2,890 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $591,000 after buying an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 18,854 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,837,000 after buying an additional 1,629 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on AVB. Truist Financial increased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $191.00 to $189.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $196.80.

About AvalonBay Communities

AvalonBay Communities, Inc (NYSE: AVB) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops, redevelops and manages multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on professionally managed apartment communities, offering a range of rental housing options and related resident services. As a REIT, AvalonBay’s core activities center on the acquisition and development of apartment assets and the ongoing operations and leasing of those communities.

AvalonBay’s operating activities include ground-up development, strategic redevelopment of existing properties, property and asset management, and on-site leasing and resident services.