Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC Raises Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $1,180,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 270.0% during the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 185 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 50.0% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the first quarter worth $68,000. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on AVB shares. Piper Sandler raised their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Scotiabank raised their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $193.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Mizuho raised their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $185.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Truist Financial raised their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $207.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Argus raised their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $207.76.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

NYSE AVB traded up $3.63 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $206.46. 375,637 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 721,400. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $201.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $189.19. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.45 and a 1 year high of $211.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $29.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.96.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by ($1.42). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 34.05% and a return on equity of 8.12%. The firm had revenue of $712.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $706.61 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.57 EPS. On average, analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 101.19%.

About AvalonBay Communities

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.