AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eighteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $198.4375.

Several brokerages have issued reports on AVB. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Friday, January 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup cut their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $198.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Colliers Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down from $200.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $191.00 to $187.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 18,031.0% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 11,785,150 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $213,677,000 after buying an additional 11,720,150 shares during the last quarter. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Tobam boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 850.2% during the fourth quarter. Tobam now owns 3,012 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter worth approximately $218,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 16,167 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,931,000 after purchasing an additional 4,820 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:AVB opened at $161.51 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.62 billion, a PE ratio of 19.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.75. 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 has a 52-week low of $160.35 and a 52-week high of $216.47. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $179.76.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $767.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $766.38 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 34.57% and a return on equity of 8.78%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.80 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

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

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.