Analysts Set AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Target Price at $235.07

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the fifteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $235.07.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AVB shares. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $223.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $236.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 13th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $220.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, April 4th. UBS Group dropped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $238.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $265.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of AVB stock opened at $202.57 on Thursday. AvalonBay Communities has a 52-week low of $180.40 and a 52-week high of $239.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $204.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $209.57.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 38.86%. The company had revenue of $693.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $744.61 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.70 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 87.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 20,783 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,572,000 after buying an additional 1,441 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 74,376 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $16,360,000 after buying an additional 8,672 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,451 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,616 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $356,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 8,730 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,920,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.