AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Price Target Increased to $218.00 by Analysts at Barclays

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) had its price objective boosted by Barclays from $204.00 to $218.00 in a research note released on Monday, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial lowered their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $201.00 to $197.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Wolfe Research downgraded AvalonBay Communities from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $188.00 to $185.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $191.00 target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $191.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Monday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $199.78.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

NYSE AVB opened at $191.02 on Monday. AvalonBay Communities has a 1 year low of $160.45 and a 1 year high of $198.65. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $182.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.78. The company has a market cap of $27.16 billion, a PE ratio of 28.43, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by ($1.42). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 34.05% and a return on equity of 8.12%. The firm had revenue of $712.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $706.61 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.57 EPS. On average, analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities will post 10.84 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.19%.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

In related news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total transaction of $323,925.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,054,985.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,907 shares in the company, valued at $4,054,985.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total transaction of $928,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AVB. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,759,095 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $883,098,000 after purchasing an additional 109,585 shares during the period. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the first quarter worth approximately $318,000. Advocate Group LLC lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 6.9% in the first quarter. Advocate Group LLC now owns 21,541 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,997,000 after buying an additional 1,391 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 10.9% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 87,755 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $16,284,000 after acquiring an additional 8,649 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 41,271 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,658,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

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.