AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Stock Rating Upgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) was upgraded by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a $262.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their prior target price of $247.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 19.18% from the stock’s previous close.

AVB has been the subject of several other reports. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $225.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $222.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $231.33.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of AVB stock opened at $219.83 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $227.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $218.12. AvalonBay Communities has a 1 year low of $169.37 and a 1 year high of $239.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $31.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.98.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $731.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.66 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total transaction of $5,532,538.59. Following the sale, the director now owns 87,239 shares in the company, valued at $20,367,689.33. This represents a 21.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 212,338 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $47,056,000 after acquiring an additional 22,076 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 18.9% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 76,652 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $17,266,000 after acquiring an additional 12,165 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth approximately $126,000. Unigestion Holding SA acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at $578,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 70,650 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $15,914,000 after buying an additional 964 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.