AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.12 EPS

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The real estate investment trust reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by ($0.12), Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $777.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $772.37 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.64% and a net margin of 33.33%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.82 earnings per share.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $190.98 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $27.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.77. AvalonBay Communities has a 12-month low of $160.10 and a 12-month high of $203.29. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $187.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.36. 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 Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $1.78 per share. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Compound Planning Inc. bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,615,640 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $474,242,000 after purchasing an additional 29,834 shares during the period. Rare Wolf Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at $202,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1,181.0% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 675,070 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $122,397,000 after buying an additional 622,370 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth $233,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wolfe Research raised AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, June 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $203.00 target price (down from $208.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $196.80.

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.