Piper Sandler Issues Pessimistic Forecast for AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Stock Price

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) had its price target lowered by Piper Sandler from $270.00 to $265.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on AVB. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $243.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.73.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $220.04 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $219.88 and a 200-day moving average of $222.44. The firm has a market cap of $31.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.99. AvalonBay Communities has a 1-year low of $172.16 and a 1-year high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 37.13%. Sell-side analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.53 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.59%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AVB. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,639 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.7% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 9,004 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,028,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 46.6% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 34,791 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,837,000 after acquiring an additional 11,064 shares in the last quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter valued at approximately $508,000. Finally, Presima Securities ULC increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.7% during the third quarter. Presima Securities ULC now owns 12,201 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,748,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

About AvalonBay Communities

AvalonBay Communities, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the development, acquisition, ownership, and operation of multifamily communities. It operates through the following segments: Same Store, Other Stabilized, and Development or Redevelopment. The Same Store segment refers to the operating communities that were owned and had stabilized occupancy.