AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Price Target Lowered to $226.00 at Scotiabank

Key Points

• Scotiabank has reduced its price target for AvalonBay Communities from $236.00 to $226.00, now projecting a potential upside of 20.13% from the current stock price of $188.12.
• Recent analysts' ratings show a mix of sentiments, with Piper Sandler lowering their target to $200.00, while Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock from "sell" to "hold."
• Insider transactions reveal that executives have sold significant shares recently, with EVP Edward M. Schulman selling almost 6,000 shares for over $1.2 million, indicating a 25.23% decrease in their ownership stake.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) had its price target cut by Scotiabank from $236.00 to $226.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the real estate investment trust's stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on AVB. Mizuho reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $199.00 price target (down previously from $213.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $216.00 to $212.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $228.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $249.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $225.64.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of AVB stock traded up $0.87 during trading on Thursday, hitting $190.19. The company had a trading volume of 767,538 shares, compared to its average volume of 932,267. AvalonBay Communities has a one year low of $180.40 and a one year high of $239.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.70. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $199.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $206.26.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $689.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $759.08 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 38.91% and a return on equity of 9.70%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.77 EPS. Equities analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio is currently 86.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AvalonBay Communities

In other AvalonBay Communities news, CFO Kevin P. O'shea sold 6,000 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.57, for a total value of $1,245,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 22,782 shares in the company, valued at $4,728,859.74. The trade was a 20.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Edward M. Schulman sold 5,945 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction that occurred 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FORA Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 78.7% in the second quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 15,702 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,195,000 after acquiring an additional 6,916 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the second quarter valued at $36,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 406,492 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $82,807,000 after buying an additional 23,304 shares in the last quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 2nd quarter worth about $85,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 46,688 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $9,501,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company's stock.

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.