Cantor Fitzgerald Issues Positive Forecast for AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Stock Price

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) had its target price increased by Cantor Fitzgerald from $179.00 to $186.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a neutral rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

AVB has been the topic of several other research reports. Colliers Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $195.00 target price (down previously from $200.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $172.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $205.00 to $203.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $215.00 to $193.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $201.10.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

NYSE:AVB opened at $173.22 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $178.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $184.44. AvalonBay Communities has a 12 month low of $166.73 and a 12 month high of $230.21. The firm has a market cap of $24.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.01. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 34.57%.The business had revenue of $767.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $766.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.78 per share. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the second quarter valued at $1,394,225,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 70.2% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,593,727 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $527,823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069,793 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 76.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,355,838 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $455,077,000 after buying an additional 1,017,286 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 23.2% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,816,163 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $573,091,000 after buying an additional 530,274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,497,047 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $815,360,000 after buying an additional 383,983 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.