Royal Bank of Canada Boosts AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Price Target to $196.00

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) had its price objective hoisted by Royal Bank of Canada from $191.00 to $196.00 in a research note released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector perform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on AVB. Morgan Stanley upgraded AvalonBay Communities from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and increased their price objective for the company from $175.00 to $191.50 in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday. Mizuho cut their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $188.00 to $185.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $191.00 price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a sector weight rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $200.50.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE AVB opened at $187.93 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.97, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $183.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.93. AvalonBay Communities has a 12 month low of $160.45 and a 12 month high of $198.65.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its 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). The firm had revenue of $712.86 million during 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 previous year, the firm earned $2.57 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities will post 10.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AvalonBay Communities

In other AvalonBay Communities news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,054,985.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the firm’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 value of $323,925.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,308 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,330.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,610,000. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 248,699 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $46,561,000 after purchasing an additional 5,061 shares during the last quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $873,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 994,505 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $186,191,000 after purchasing an additional 21,760 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,625,000. Hedge funds and other 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.