UBS Group Cuts AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Price Target to $216.00

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by UBS Group from $238.00 to $216.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the real estate investment trust's stock. UBS Group's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 6.75% from the stock's current price.

AVB has been the subject of several other research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $223.00 to $220.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $238.00 to $213.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $240.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded AvalonBay Communities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 29th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $236.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $235.07.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 0.2%

AVB stock traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $202.34. The stock had a trading volume of 667,503 shares, compared to its average volume of 747,102. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. AvalonBay Communities has a 1-year low of $180.40 and a 1-year high of $239.29. The company has a fifty day moving average of $204.26 and a 200 day moving average of $209.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.20, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.85.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $693.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $744.61 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 38.86%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.70 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AvalonBay Communities

In related news, CFO Kevin P. O'shea sold 6,000 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.57, for a total transaction of $1,245,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,728,859.74. The trade was a 20.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Edward M. Schulman sold 5,945 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.67, for a total value of $1,222,708.15. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 17,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Corporate insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. Perpetual Ltd raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 0.5% in the second quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 10,650 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,167,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,247 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $697,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. CX Institutional increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 973 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 1,661 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,616 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.