Royal Bank of Canada Increases AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Price Target to $196.00

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) had its price target increased by Royal Bank of Canada from $191.00 to $196.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on AVB. KeyCorp reissued a sector weight rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Wolfe Research cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Truist Financial reduced their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $201.00 to $197.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a buy rating and a $206.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and raised their target price for the stock from $175.00 to $191.50 in a report on Monday, February 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $199.78.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 0.2 %

AVB opened at $191.02 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $182.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.78. AvalonBay Communities has a fifty-two week low of $160.45 and a fifty-two week high of $198.65. The company has a market cap of $27.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by ($1.42). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 34.05% and a return on equity of 8.12%. The company had revenue of $712.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $706.61 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.57 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities will post 10.84 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.19%.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

In other AvalonBay Communities news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total value of $323,925.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,907 shares in the company, valued at $4,054,985.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other AvalonBay Communities news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total value of $323,925.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,907 shares in the company, valued at $4,054,985.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total value of $928,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,812,330.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 270.0% during the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 185 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 1,542.9% during the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 53.7% during the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 312 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.