AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Receives “Equal Weight” Rating from Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley reaffirmed their equal weight rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) in a research note published on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $203.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock, down from their previous price target of $208.00.

AVB has been the subject of a number of other reports. Colliers Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $195.00 price target (down from $200.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered AvalonBay Communities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $203.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $191.00 to $187.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $198.44.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of AVB stock opened at $163.46 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $22.90 billion, a PE ratio of 19.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $174.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.43. AvalonBay Communities has a 12 month low of $160.72 and a 12 month high of $217.32.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $767.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $766.38 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 34.57%.During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. Analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $1.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is 85.47%.

Institutional Trading of AvalonBay Communities

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth $30,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 160 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. BOKF NA purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Company 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.