AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Now Covered by Barclays

Barclays started coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued an equal weight rating and a $243.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on AVB. Zelman & Associates raised shares of AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Truist Financial upped their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $222.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.33.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

NYSE:AVB opened at $217.16 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $227.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $218.11. The firm has a market cap of $30.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.71, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. AvalonBay Communities has a one year low of $169.37 and a one year high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 36.20%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.66 EPS. Research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.03 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 93.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 2,261 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.78, for a total transaction of $528,576.58. Following the transaction, the director now owns 111,436 shares in the company, valued at $26,051,508.08. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,245,028 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,097,971,000 after buying an additional 196,938 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,585,802 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $805,113,000 after acquiring an additional 27,988 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 3.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,240,436 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $504,658,000 after acquiring an additional 78,800 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 0.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,074,269 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $429,145,000 after purchasing an additional 13,631 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 678.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,715,050 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $386,315,000 after purchasing an additional 1,494,872 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AvalonBay Communities Company 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.