Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Purchases 3,900 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 31.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,189 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,900 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $3,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Perpetual Ltd increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.5% in the second quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 10,650 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,167,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. CX Institutional grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 973 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 2,243 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $456,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Clearstead Trust LLC raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 62.0% during the second quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 162 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.5% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 2,725 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AVB shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Barclays upgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $229.00 to $216.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $193.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Colliers Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $195.00 target price (down previously from $200.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $205.82.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $179.48 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $179.56 and its 200 day moving average is $188.22. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $166.73 and a one year high of $230.21. The firm has a market cap of $25.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.91, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.81 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $766.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $766.22 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 38.78% and a return on equity of 9.72%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.47%.

AvalonBay Communities Profile

AvalonBay Communities, Inc (NYSE: AVB) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops, redevelops and manages multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on professionally managed apartment communities, offering a range of rental housing options and related resident services. As a REIT, AvalonBay’s core activities center on the acquisition and development of apartment assets and the ongoing operations and leasing of those communities.

AvalonBay’s operating activities include ground-up development, strategic redevelopment of existing properties, property and asset management, and on-site leasing and resident services.