Piper Sandler Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Stock

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) had its price objective boosted by analysts at Piper Sandler from $195.00 to $210.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Piper Sandler’s target price indicates a potential upside of 10.37% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $203.00 target price (down from $208.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $209.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $191.00 to $189.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $196.80.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $190.27 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $187.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $179.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.58, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.77. AvalonBay Communities has a 52-week low of $160.10 and a 52-week high of $204.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $1.63. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.21% and a return on equity of 9.56%. The firm had revenue of $712.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $772.37 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.82 EPS. Analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.28 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 18,031.0% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 11,785,150 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $213,677,000 after buying an additional 11,720,150 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth $1,394,635,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 15,065.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,801,071 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $326,552,000 after acquiring an additional 1,789,195 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 76.0% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,355,838 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $455,077,000 after acquiring an additional 1,017,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,159,950 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $935,551,000 after acquiring an additional 944,129 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.