Analysts Set AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) PT at $196.80

Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $196.80.

Several brokerages have issued reports on AVB. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $193.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wolfe Research upgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $209.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE:AVB opened at $185.82 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.77. AvalonBay Communities has a twelve month low of $160.10 and a twelve month high of $198.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $187.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.23 by ($0.12). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 33.33% and a return on equity of 8.58%. The company had revenue of $777.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $772.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.82 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $1.78 per share. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 116.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Reflection Asset Management bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 56.0% in the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 156 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 160 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. BOKF NA purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.