AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (AVB) To Go Ex-Dividend on March 31st

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 5th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of 1.75 per share by the real estate investment trust on Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a 2.9% increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70.

AvalonBay Communities has raised its dividend payment by an average of 2.3% annually over the last three years. AvalonBay Communities has a dividend payout ratio of 118.8% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Research analysts expect AvalonBay Communities to earn $12.20 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $7.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 57.4%.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:AVB opened at $213.50 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $217.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.37 billion, a PE ratio of 28.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. AvalonBay Communities has a 12 month low of $177.40 and a 12 month high of $239.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 37.13%. Research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on AVB. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Barclays lowered their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Zelman & Associates raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.64.

About AvalonBay Communities

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.