AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Upgraded by Mizuho to Outperform Rating

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) was upgraded by research analysts at Mizuho from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $242.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their previous target price of $239.00. Mizuho’s price target indicates a potential upside of 14.49% from the company’s current price.

AVB has been the subject of several other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays started coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $243.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target 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. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.53.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 0.7 %

AVB stock opened at $211.38 on Monday. AvalonBay Communities has a 52 week low of $169.37 and a 52 week high of $239.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $30.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $225.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $220.20.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.66 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

In other AvalonBay Communities news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was 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 owns 87,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,367,689.33. The trade was a 21.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,060,497 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $914,627,000 after purchasing an additional 55,588 shares during the period. American Assets Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth about $1,014,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.6% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 63,174 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,070,000 after buying an additional 3,350 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 284.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 146,429 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,983,000 after buying an additional 108,371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 46.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 34,791 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,837,000 after buying an additional 11,064 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About AvalonBay Communities

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.