AvalonBay Communities, Inc. Expected to Post Q1 2026 Earnings of $2.98 Per Share (NYSE:AVB)

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) – Zacks Research decreased their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for AvalonBay Communities in a report released on Friday, April 19th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the real estate investment trust will post earnings of $2.98 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.99. The consensus estimate for AvalonBay Communities’ current full-year earnings is $10.80 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for AvalonBay Communities’ FY2026 earnings at $12.06 EPS.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.73 by ($1.03). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 33.56%. The business had revenue of $704.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $701.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share.

AVB has been the subject of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $175.00 to $191.50 in a research note on Monday, February 26th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Truist Financial cut their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $201.00 to $197.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Wolfe Research lowered AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $196.78.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVB opened at $188.66 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.80, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.92. AvalonBay Communities has a one year low of $160.45 and a one year high of $198.65.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.82%.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total transaction of $323,925.00. Following 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total value of $323,925.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,907 shares in the company, valued at $4,054,985.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total value of $928,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,308 shares in the company, 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,271,756,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 6.5% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,496,671 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $428,778,000 after buying an additional 151,995 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 17.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,298,186 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $394,690,000 after buying an additional 341,332 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 5.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,278,363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $391,286,000 after buying an additional 126,288 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,838,702 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $344,242,000 after buying an additional 25,625 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

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.