AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Rating Lowered to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on AVB. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. Colliers Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $195.00 price target (down previously from $200.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $214.00 price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $199.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $205.89.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $182.47 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a 50 day moving average of $179.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $187.60. AvalonBay Communities has a 52-week low of $166.73 and a 52-week high of $230.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.81 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $766.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $766.22 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 38.78% and a return on equity of 9.72%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.74 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. BOKF NA purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth $31,000. Clearstead Trust LLC raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 62.0% in the second quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 162 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Company Profile

AvalonBay Communities, Inc (NYSE: AVB) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops, redevelops and manages multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on professionally managed apartment communities, offering a range of rental housing options and related resident services. As a REIT, AvalonBay’s core activities center on the acquisition and development of apartment assets and the ongoing operations and leasing of those communities.

AvalonBay’s operating activities include ground-up development, strategic redevelopment of existing properties, property and asset management, and on-site leasing and resident services.