Wall Street Zen Upgrades AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) to "Hold"

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $265.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $249.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $238.00 to $213.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $235.86.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock traded up $0.40 on Friday, hitting $206.92. The company had a trading volume of 1,264,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 732,865. AvalonBay Communities has a 52 week low of $180.40 and a 52 week high of $239.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $29.46 billion, a PE ratio of 25.77, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $205.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $212.54.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $693.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio is 87.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Kevin P. O'shea sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was 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 now directly owns 22,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,728,859.74. This represents a 20.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Edward M. Schulman sold 5,945 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,623,288.39. This represents a 25.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Proathlete Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1,666.7% in the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.