AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Receives $227.06 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eighteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $226.88.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $225.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $222.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 2,261 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.78, for a total transaction of $528,576.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 111,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,051,508.08. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AvalonBay Communities

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1,877.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 178 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. BROOKFIELD Corp ON acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

NYSE:AVB opened at $229.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 2.03. AvalonBay Communities has a 1-year low of $166.60 and a 1-year high of $236.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $226.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $212.16. The stock has a market cap of $32.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.13, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.97.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.10). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 36.20%. The company had revenue of $734.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $731.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.66 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 93.02%.

About AvalonBay Communities

As of December 31, 2023, the Company owned or held a direct or indirect ownership interest in 299 apartment communities containing 90,669 apartment homes in 12 states and the District of Columbia, of which 18 communities were under development. The Company is an equity REIT in the business of developing, redeveloping, acquiring and managing apartment communities in leading metropolitan areas in New England, the New York/New Jersey Metro area, the Mid-Atlantic, the Pacific Northwest, and Northern and Southern California, as well as in the Company's expansion regions of Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte, North Carolina, Southeast Florida, Dallas and Austin, Texas, and Denver, Colorado.