AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Price Target Raised to $212.00

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) had its price target lifted by analysts at Argus from $188.00 to $212.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Argus’ target price indicates a potential upside of 12.81% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $206.00 target price for the company. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $191.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.50.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $187.93 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $183.39 and a 200 day moving average of $178.93. The stock has a market cap of $26.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.92. AvalonBay Communities has a 12 month low of $160.45 and a 12 month high of $198.65. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.64 by ($1.42). The firm had revenue of $712.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $706.61 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 34.05% and a return on equity of 8.12%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.57 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities will post 10.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AvalonBay Communities

In other AvalonBay Communities news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total transaction of $323,925.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,054,985.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other AvalonBay Communities news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total transaction of $323,925.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,054,985.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total transaction of $928,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,812,330.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. Norges Bank bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter worth $1,271,756,000. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 70.8% in the 4th quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 835,133 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $156,354,000 after purchasing an additional 346,214 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,298,186 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $394,690,000 after purchasing an additional 341,332 shares in the last quarter. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 307.4% in the 4th quarter. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC now owns 351,104 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $65,734,000 after purchasing an additional 264,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 2,140.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 213,727 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $40,347,000 after purchasing an additional 204,186 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by 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.