AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Price Target Lowered to $208.00 at Morgan Stanley

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) had its price objective reduced by Morgan Stanley from $222.50 to $208.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $217.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $198.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $199.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $193.00 to $190.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $190.00 to $183.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $198.75.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

NYSE:AVB opened at $169.20 on Monday. AvalonBay Communities has a 12-month low of $166.73 and a 12-month high of $217.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $177.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $767.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $766.38 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.80 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.47%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 21.0% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 44,760 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,646,000 after buying an additional 7,780 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 3.1% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 216,153 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $41,754,000 after buying an additional 6,511 shares in the last quarter. Sun Life Financial Inc. increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sun Life Financial Inc. now owns 161,087 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,117,000 after acquiring an additional 8,660 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 78.7% during the 2nd quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 15,702 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,195,000 after acquiring an additional 6,916 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 17.7% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 449,348 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $90,768,000 after acquiring an additional 67,695 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

About AvalonBay Communities

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.