Yousif Capital Management LLC Lowers Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Yousif Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 25,373 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 859 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $4,750,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. First Affirmative Financial Network grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 1,494 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 10,723 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,595 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Toroso Investments LLC lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 26,102 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,483,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 2,498 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on AVB. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Wolfe Research lowered AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $206.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $201.00 to $197.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $196.78.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AVB opened at $191.45 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.45 and a fifty-two week high of $198.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.22 billion, a PE ratio of 29.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $182.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $178.64.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.70 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $701.67 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.59 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.82%.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

In related news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,054,985.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related 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 transaction of $928,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,330.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total value of $323,925.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,907 shares in the company, 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.

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.