Jefferies Financial Group Upgrades AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) to Hold

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) was upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group to a “hold” rating in a report released on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $203.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $193.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $209.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $195.13.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of AVB opened at $190.13 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $26.45 billion, a PE ratio of 27.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a fifty day moving average of $182.76 and a 200 day moving average of $177.81. AvalonBay Communities has a 52-week low of $160.10 and a 52-week high of $206.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.80 by ($0.47). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.56% and a net margin of 37.21%.The firm had revenue of $770.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $768.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.83 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.28 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. Clearstead Trust LLC raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 56.0% in the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 156 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,358 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $649,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 2,458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% during the first quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV now owns 6,540 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,090,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Phoenix Financial Ltd. increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 1,713 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

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.