AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Price Target Raised to $222.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) had its price target upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $210.00 to $222.00 in a research report report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on AVB. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $185.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $203.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Evercore ISI cut AvalonBay Communities from an outperform rating to an inline rating and set a $202.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, May 13th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $206.89.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVB opened at $206.35 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $29.34 billion, a PE ratio of 30.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.93. AvalonBay Communities has a 1 year low of $160.45 and a 1 year high of $208.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $195.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $186.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by ($1.42). The business had revenue of $712.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $706.61 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.12% and a net margin of 34.05%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.57 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities will post 10.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SVB Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 5,529 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,026,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. West Coast Financial LLC increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. First Affirmative Financial Network raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 1,494 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,180,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 50.0% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in 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.