AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from 15 brokerages, with 9 analysts rating the stock as hold and 6 as buy.
• The average target price for AvalonBay Communities is set at $228.79, although various analysts have adjusted their price targets, with some decreasing their estimates significantly.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.75 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.7% and a payout ratio of 86.21%.

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the fifteen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $228.7857.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $240.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $249.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $238.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 target price (down previously from $255.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Monday, August 4th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AvalonBay Communities news, CFO Kevin P. O'shea sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.57, for a total transaction of $1,245,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 22,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,728,859.74. This represents a 20.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Edward M. Schulman sold 5,945 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.67, for a total transaction of $1,222,708.15. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 17,617 shares in the company, valued at $3,623,288.39. This trade represents a 25.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AvalonBay Communities

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Proathlete Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Clearstead Trust LLC raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 62.0% during the second quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 162 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1,666.7% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 76.4% during the second quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 187 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company's stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of AVB opened at $186.74 on Monday. AvalonBay Communities has a one year low of $180.40 and a one year high of $239.29. The company has a market cap of $26.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $201.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $207.28.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.02. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 38.91% and a return on equity of 9.70%. The business had revenue of $689.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $759.08 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.77 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio is 86.21%.

About AvalonBay Communities

AvalonBay Communities, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the development, acquisition, ownership, and operation of multifamily communities. It operates through the following segments: Same Store, Other Stabilized, and Development or Redevelopment. The Same Store segment refers to the operating communities that were owned and had stabilized occupancy.

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