AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Rating Lowered to "Hold" at BNP Paribas

Key Points

• AvalonBay Communities has been downgraded from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating by BNP Paribas, signaling a shift in analyst sentiment towards the stock.
• Several brokerage firms have adjusted their price targets for AvalonBay, with estimates ranging from a low of $200.00 to a high of $216.00.
• The company's latest quarterly earnings report indicated an EPS of $2.82, slightly surpassing analyst expectations, although revenue fell short of estimates at $689.90 million.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at BNP Paribas from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on AVB. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Truist Financial raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $224.00 to $218.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $213.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down from $255.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $218.42.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB opened at $193.49 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $192.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $200.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $27.55 billion, a PE ratio of 23.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.87. AvalonBay Communities has a 52-week low of $180.40 and a 52-week high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $689.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm posted $2.77 EPS. AvalonBay Communities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.190-11.590 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Achmea Investment Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 33.5% during the first quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 23,068 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,951,000 after acquiring an additional 5,791 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.9% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 48,476 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $10,404,000 after purchasing an additional 2,243 shares in the last quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.0% during the first quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 66,660 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $14,307,000 after purchasing an additional 3,199 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 9.1% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 344,505 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $73,938,000 after purchasing an additional 28,608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the first quarter valued at about $1,272,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company's stock.

AvalonBay Communities Company Profile

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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