AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $197.03.

A number of analysts have recently commented on AVB shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $206.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $194.00 to $204.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $191.00 price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $185.00 price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Friday, February 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling at AvalonBay Communities

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quarry LP increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 255.6% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 192 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 316.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. Castleview Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1,542.9% during the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB opened at $179.85 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $25.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.46, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.92. AvalonBay Communities has a twelve month low of $160.45 and a twelve month high of $198.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $179.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.40.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $701.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 33.56%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.59 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities will post 10.82 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.82%.

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.