Aew Capital Management L P Buys 171,950 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

Aew Capital Management L P grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 684,898 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 171,950 shares during the quarter. AvalonBay Communities accounts for about 7.4% of Aew Capital Management L P’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Aew Capital Management L P owned about 0.48% of AvalonBay Communities worth $132,302,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AVB. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Clearstead Trust LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 62.0% in the second quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 162 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the second quarter worth about $59,000. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 0.6%

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $177.47 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $178.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $183.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.67, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $166.73 and a 52 week high of $230.21.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $767.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $766.38 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.80 earnings per share. Analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $1.78 dividend. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AVB shares. Evercore reiterated an “in-line” rating and issued a $214.00 price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $193.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $198.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $200.91.

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.