Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Grows Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 2.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 899,849 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,120 shares during the quarter. AvalonBay Communities accounts for 2.0% of Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned about 0.64% of AvalonBay Communities worth $173,824,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AVB. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Clearstead Trust LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 62.0% during the 2nd quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 162 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the second quarter valued at about $59,000. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on AVB shares. Colliers Securities restated a “neutral” rating and set a $195.00 price target (down from $200.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut AvalonBay Communities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $172.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $190.00 to $183.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $199.66.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

NYSE AVB opened at $171.74 on Thursday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $166.73 and a 1-year high of $217.32. The company has a 50 day moving average of $177.70 and a 200-day moving average of $182.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $24.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.75.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $767.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $766.38 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 34.57%.During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $1.78 dividend. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is presently 86.94%.

AvalonBay Communities Profile

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.