AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Receives $227.06 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $226.88.

AVB has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $225.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

AVB stock opened at $229.41 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $226.26 and a 200-day moving average of $212.16. AvalonBay Communities has a 12-month low of $166.60 and a 12-month high of $236.26. The company has a market cap of $32.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.13, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.97.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.10). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 36.20%. The company had revenue of $734.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $731.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 93.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total transaction of $5,532,538.59. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 87,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,367,689.33. This represents a 21.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AvalonBay Communities

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. &PARTNERS purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the 2nd quarter worth $1,538,000. Sheets Smith Wealth Management purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 1st quarter valued at about $768,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 32,952 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,115,000 after buying an additional 4,138 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 1st quarter valued at about $4,532,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,139,000. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Company Profile

As of December 31, 2023, the Company owned or held a direct or indirect ownership interest in 299 apartment communities containing 90,669 apartment homes in 12 states and the District of Columbia, of which 18 communities were under development. The Company is an equity REIT in the business of developing, redeveloping, acquiring and managing apartment communities in leading metropolitan areas in New England, the New York/New Jersey Metro area, the Mid-Atlantic, the Pacific Northwest, and Northern and Southern California, as well as in the Company's expansion regions of Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte, North Carolina, Southeast Florida, Dallas and Austin, Texas, and Denver, Colorado.