AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) PT Lowered to $201.00 at Truist Financial

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) had its target price reduced by Truist Financial from $203.00 to $201.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on AVB. KeyCorp reaffirmed a sector weight rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $201.00 to $194.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 29th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, November 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a buy rating and a $206.00 price objective on the stock. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $196.22.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of AVB stock traded down $1.24 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $182.58. 839,572 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 866,988. The company has a market capitalization of $25.93 billion, a PE ratio of 27.88, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.92. AvalonBay Communities has a 12-month low of $153.07 and a 12-month high of $198.65. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $178.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.73 by ($1.03). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 33.56%. The business had revenue of $704.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $701.67 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.59 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities will post 10.84 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company 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 $1.70 dividend. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is presently 100.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 1,485 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 18.0% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,007 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the first quarter valued at approximately $704,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 54.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 5,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after buying an additional 1,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 7.8% during the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 12,461 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,095,000 after buying an additional 901 shares during the last quarter. 88.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Company Profile

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.