AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Upgraded at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank raised their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $191.00 to $189.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $193.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $205.00 target price (up from $203.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $196.80.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE AVB opened at $189.53 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. AvalonBay Communities has a 1-year low of $160.10 and a 1-year high of $203.29. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $187.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.44. The company has a market capitalization of $26.92 billion, a PE ratio of 27.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.77.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $777.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $772.37 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 33.33% and a return on equity of 8.58%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.82 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $1.78 dividend. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. B&I Capital AG bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 1st quarter worth approximately $11,194,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,237,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,497,047 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $815,360,000 after acquiring an additional 383,983 shares during the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 940,065 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $170,443,000 after acquiring an additional 40,216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 16,167 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,931,000 after acquiring an additional 4,820 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About AvalonBay Communities

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.