AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB Holdings Cut by FORA Capital LLC

FORA Capital LLC cut its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 38.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 9,725 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 5,977 shares during the quarter. FORA Capital LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $1,879,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. BOKF NA bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Clearstead Trust LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the second quarter valued at $36,000. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of AVB stock opened at $168.91 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $166.73 and a 1 year high of $217.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.66 billion, a PE ratio of 20.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $177.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $182.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.01. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 34.57% and a return on equity of 8.78%. The business had revenue of $767.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $766.38 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.78 per share. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is 85.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AVB. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $217.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $198.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $193.00 to $190.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $199.66.

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.