Wall Street Zen Upgrades AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) to “Hold”

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $249.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets cut AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $223.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $227.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $235.86.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 0.2%

AVB opened at $206.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.51. AvalonBay Communities has a one year low of $180.40 and a one year high of $239.29. The business’s fifty day moving average is $205.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.54. The company has a market cap of $29.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.77, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.86.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $693.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $744.61 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 38.86%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.70 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In related news, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.57, for a total value of $1,245,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 22,782 shares in the company, valued at $4,728,859.74. The trade was a 20.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Edward M. Schulman sold 5,945 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.67, for a total transaction of $1,222,708.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,617 shares in the company, valued at $3,623,288.39. This represents a 25.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AvalonBay Communities

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 916 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 47.8% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 761 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $163,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 8,033 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,767,000 after buying an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 130.8% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 607 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 146.2% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 544 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $120,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.