AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $198.4375.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $191.00 to $187.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $203.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Friday, January 9th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.8% in the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,358 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,456 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 2,458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 564 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 8,126 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,654,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $160.88 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $174.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $180.10. AvalonBay Communities has a 52-week low of $160.35 and a 52-week high of $216.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.75.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $767.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $766.38 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 34.57% and a return on equity of 8.78%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.80 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.48 EPS 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $1.78 dividend. This is a positive change 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 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.47%.

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.