Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Has $15.95 Million Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

Key Points

• Institutional ownership increased: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its AvalonBay Communities stake by 23% in Q1, ending with 97,648 shares valued at about $15.95 million. Overall, institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the stock.
• Mixed quarterly results: AvalonBay reported $2.33 EPS, missing the $2.80 consensus estimate, while revenue of $770.28 million slightly topped expectations. The company’s earnings outlook remains for 11.28 EPS this fiscal year.
• Dividend and analyst sentiment: The REIT declared a quarterly dividend of $1.78 per share payable July 15, implying a 3.7% annualized yield. Analysts are largely cautious, with an average rating of Hold and a price target of $195.67.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 23.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 97,648 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 18,240 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS owned approximately 0.07% of AvalonBay Communities worth $15,951,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AVB. Candriam S.C.A. raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 16.9% during the 1st quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 18,788 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,069,000 after purchasing an additional 2,715 shares during the last quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV now owns 6,540 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,090,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 691,452 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $112,879,000 after buying an additional 65,138 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 84,885 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $13,748,000 after buying an additional 3,154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abel Hall LLC increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 50.5% in the first quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,791 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 601 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE AVB opened at $191.88 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $26.69 billion, a PE ratio of 27.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.77. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.10 and a 12-month high of $205.00. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $186.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $178.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.80 by ($0.47). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.21% and a return on equity of 9.56%. The company had revenue of $770.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $768.80 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $1.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on AVB. Wolfe Research raised AvalonBay Communities from an "outperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $209.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $203.00 price objective (down from $208.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $195.67.

AvalonBay Communities 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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