Wedbush Forecasts Weaker Earnings for AvalonBay Communities

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) – Wedbush cut their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for AvalonBay Communities in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, November 6th. Wedbush analyst R. Anderson now expects that the real estate investment trust will earn $2.82 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $2.86. The consensus estimate for AvalonBay Communities’ current full-year earnings is $11.01 per share.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.10). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.87% and a net margin of 36.20%. The company had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $731.67 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.66 EPS.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on AVB. Truist Financial lifted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $225.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $227.06.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 2.6 %

NYSE AVB opened at $233.88 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $225.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. AvalonBay Communities has a 52 week low of $164.76 and a 52 week high of $236.26. The company has a market capitalization of $33.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.97.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,074,269 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $429,145,000 after purchasing an additional 13,631 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,980,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $367,534,000 after purchasing an additional 249,400 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,847,511 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $342,824,000 after purchasing an additional 8,809 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,183,121 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $244,776,000 after purchasing an additional 126,055 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 784,723 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $145,576,000 after purchasing an additional 83,400 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.02%.

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.