AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,470,000 shares, a drop of 10.4% from the March 15th total of 1,640,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 804,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 1.2 %

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $183.78 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $26.13 billion, a PE ratio of 28.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $180.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.68. AvalonBay Communities has a twelve month low of $160.45 and a twelve month high of $198.65.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.73 by ($1.03). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 33.56% and a return on equity of 7.98%. The company had revenue of $704.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $701.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.59 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities will post 10.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is 103.82%.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total value of $323,925.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,054,985.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total transaction of $928,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,812,330.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total transaction of $323,925.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,054,985.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AVB. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 1,485 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 18.0% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,007 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 1st quarter worth $704,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 54.4% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 5,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,306,000 after buying an additional 1,853 shares during the period. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 12,461 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,095,000 after buying an additional 901 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on AVB. Wolfe Research lowered shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $191.00 target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $207.00 price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $206.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $175.00 to $191.50 in a report on Monday, February 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $196.78.

AvalonBay Communities Company Profile

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.