AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Receives Overweight Rating from Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler reiterated their overweight rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) in a research report report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $207.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

AVB has been the topic of several other reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $175.00 to $191.50 in a report on Monday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a neutral rating and set a $191.00 price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, November 30th. Wolfe Research cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $188.00 to $185.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $197.03.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 0.9 %

AVB stock opened at $185.39 on Tuesday. AvalonBay Communities has a one year low of $159.57 and a one year high of $198.65. The firm has a market cap of $26.33 billion, a PE ratio of 28.30, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $178.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.73 by ($1.03). The business had revenue of $704.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $701.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 33.56% and a return on equity of 7.98%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities will post 10.81 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.76%.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In other AvalonBay Communities news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total value of $323,925.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,907 shares in the company, valued at $4,054,985.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other AvalonBay Communities news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total transaction of $323,925.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,054,985.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total transaction of $928,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,812,330.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AVB. Vanderbilt University grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 1.6% during the third quarter. Vanderbilt University now owns 3,728 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $640,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Wexford Capital LP raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 1.9% during the second quarter. Wexford Capital LP now owns 3,347 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $633,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% during the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 4,387 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $753,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 11.8% in the third quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 624 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 2,218 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $415,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

About AvalonBay Communities

As of December 31, 2023, the Company owned or held a direct or indirect ownership interest in 299 apartment communities containing 90,669 apartment homes in 12 states and the District of Columbia, of which 18 communities were under development. The Company is an equity REIT in the business of developing, redeveloping, acquiring and managing apartment communities in leading metropolitan areas in New England, the New York/New Jersey Metro area, the Mid-Atlantic, the Pacific Northwest, and Northern and Southern California, as well as in the Company's expansion regions of Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte, North Carolina, Southeast Florida, Dallas and Austin, Texas, and Denver, Colorado.