AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Stock Holdings Increased by Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 49.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,500 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 24,500 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.05% of AvalonBay Communities worth $16,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,094 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,616 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $356,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,512 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,179 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,679,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,028 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $666,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AVB. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Zelman & Associates raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $220.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $227.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $239.93.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AvalonBay Communities stock traded up $2.73 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $208.31. 806,835 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 705,689. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $205.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $216.72. The firm has a market cap of $29.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.45, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $180.40 and a fifty-two week high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $693.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $744.61 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.70 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities 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.