AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Earns “Overweight” Rating from Piper Sandler

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and upped their price objective for the company from $175.00 to $191.50 in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Wolfe Research lowered AvalonBay Communities from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, November 30th. Barclays raised AvalonBay Communities from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and raised their target price for the stock from $194.00 to $204.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a sector weight rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $197.03.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $185.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $26.33 billion, a PE ratio of 28.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.92. AvalonBay Communities has a 52 week low of $159.57 and a 52 week high of $198.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $178.98 and its 200-day moving average 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 released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $704.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm posted $2.59 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities will post 10.81 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanderbilt University raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.6% in the third quarter. Vanderbilt University now owns 3,728 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $640,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Wexford Capital LP raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wexford Capital LP now owns 3,347 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $633,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings 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 valued at $753,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 11.8% during the third quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 624 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake 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 worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. 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.