AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $200.9063.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Barclays boosted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $216.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $199.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AVB. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,358 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $649,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 4.4% in the third quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,456 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 2,458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 13.3% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 564 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $179.50 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $178.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $183.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $25.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.76. AvalonBay Communities has a fifty-two week low of $166.73 and a fifty-two week high of $230.21.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $767.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $766.38 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 34.57% and a return on equity of 8.78%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.78 per share. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 85.47%.

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.