AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Shares have a consensus rating of Hold from 17 analysts (13 hold, 4 buy) with an average 1‑year price target of $197.00.
• AvalonBay slightly beat recent quarterly estimates (EPS $2.85 vs. $2.84; revenue $767.9M vs. $766.4M) and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.78 ($7.12 annual, ~4.1% yield) with a payout ratio near 86.9%.
• The stock opened at $173.82, has a one‑year range of $160.10–$213.34, a market cap of about $24.2B and a P/E of 21.2, and roughly 92.6% of shares are held by institutional investors.

Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $197.00.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut AvalonBay Communities from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $172.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Citigroup reduced their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $198.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays reduced their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $217.00 to $202.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $203.00 to $201.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

AVB opened at $173.82 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $171.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. AvalonBay Communities has a 1 year low of $160.10 and a 1 year high of $213.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.18 billion, a PE ratio of 21.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.75.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.01. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 34.57% and a return on equity of 8.78%. The business had revenue of $767.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $766.38 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.80 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a dividend of $1.78 per share. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities's previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio is presently 86.94%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AVB. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 21.0% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 44,760 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,646,000 after purchasing an additional 7,780 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 3.1% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 216,153 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $41,754,000 after purchasing an additional 6,511 shares in the last quarter. Sun Life Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.7% during the third quarter. Sun Life Financial Inc. now owns 161,087 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $31,117,000 after purchasing an additional 8,660 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund PDN acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth about $3,648,000. Finally, Allstate Corp lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 250.5% during the third quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 8,152 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,575,000 after purchasing an additional 5,826 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AvalonBay Communities Company Profile

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.

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