AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Given New $216.00 Price Target at UBS Group

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) had its target price lowered by UBS Group from $238.00 to $216.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on AVB. BMO Capital Markets lowered AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $220.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $223.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $249.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Barclays upped their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $240.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $235.07.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $202.34 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. AvalonBay Communities has a 12-month low of $180.40 and a 12-month high of $239.29. The stock has a market cap of $28.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.85. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $204.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $209.76.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $693.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $744.61 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 38.86% and a return on equity of 9.65%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.70 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 87.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.57, for a total transaction of $1,245,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 22,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,728,859.74. This represents a 20.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Edward M. Schulman sold 5,945 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.67, for a total value of $1,222,708.15. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 17,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,623,288.39. The trade was a 25.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AVB. Proathlete Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1,666.7% in the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 76.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 187 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Company Profile

AvalonBay Communities, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the development, acquisition, ownership, and operation of multifamily communities. It operates through the following segments: Same Store, Other Stabilized, and Development or Redevelopment. The Same Store segment refers to the operating communities that were owned and had stabilized occupancy.