AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Hits New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $166.44 and last traded at $167.1250, with a volume of 525912 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $170.57.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $199.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut AvalonBay Communities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $172.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $198.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $203.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $198.75.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $176.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $181.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.15 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.01. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 34.57% and a return on equity of 8.78%. The company had revenue of $767.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $766.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.80 earnings per share. On average, research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. 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 dividend yield of 4.3%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.47%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AVB. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 18,031.0% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 11,785,150 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $213,677,000 after acquiring an additional 11,720,150 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,394,635,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 15,065.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,801,071 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $326,552,000 after purchasing an additional 1,789,195 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 70.2% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,593,727 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $527,823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069,793 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 76.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,355,838 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $455,077,000 after buying an additional 1,017,286 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

About AvalonBay Communities

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.